Iowa Supreme Court News

Iowa Supreme Ct. Restores Ruling that Rejected Worker’s Expert Report in PTD Claim

The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday reinstated a deputy workers’ compensation commissioner’s decision to bar reports that were submitted too late by experts who weren’t certified, reversing decisions by the district court and Court of Appeals. The high court said …

Iowa: Husband Eligible for Work Comp Death Benefits Despite Separation

The husband of a deceased worker is not ineligible for workers’ compensation death benefits merely because he no longer lived with his wife when she died, a divided Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday. In a 4-2 decision, the high court …

Iowa Supreme Reverses, Finds 911 Dispatcher’s PTSD Claim Compensable

The 911 dispatch center that employed Mandy Tripp denied her workers’ compensation claim for post-traumatic stress syndrome because fielding calls involving death and injury are part of the job. A divided Iowa Supreme Court rejected that reasoning on Friday, ruling …

Iowa Issues 2nd State Supreme Court Ruling Finding No Coverage for COVID Income Loss

The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday ruled in two separate decisions that COVID-19 did not cause a physical loss or damage that would allow a private golf club or a restaurant and bar to recoup income lost during COVID-19 shutdown …

Iowa Supreme Court Finds Gross Negligence Not Always an Intentional Act

The Iowa Supreme Court cleared the way for a federal lawsuit against an amusement park to proceed, reversing a district court ruling that a ride operator’s fatal actions were so reckless that they amounted to an intentional act. If Stephen …

Iowa Court Drastically Cuts Insurer’s Payment to Paralyzed Worker

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday dramatically reduced the compensation a paralyzed northeast Iowa man received from a jury in a lawsuit against an insurance company even while finding the company’s actions were “reprehensible.” Despite criticizing …

Iowa Bars Bad Faith Against TPAs, but Question Unsettled Elsewhere

A split decision by the Iowa Supreme Court last week resolves the issue in one state, but the question of whether third-party administrators can be held liable for the tort of bad faith remains unsettled in much of the country. …

Public Duty Doctrine Reduces Government Liability in Iowa Road Safety Case

A recent Iowa Supreme Court decision involving a 2013 car accident on a northwest Iowa county road could make it more difficult for citizens to hold city, county and state officials responsible when people are hurt as the result of …

Iowa Supreme Court Hears $75 Speed Camera Ticket Case

An Iowa woman who says she was wrongly ticketed by an automated traffic camera when she wasn’t speeding has accomplished the unusual feat of getting the state Supreme Court to consider her $75 small-claims case. For Marla Leaf, 67, it’s …

Iowa High Court Orders New Trial in High School Baseball Injury Case

The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday ordered a new trial in the case of a Muscatine high school baseball player whose skull was fractured when he was struck by a foul ball during a game in Davenport in 2011. A …