By financen | November 9, 2015 - 6:45 pm - Posted in Others

As with most states, Iowa has implemented a Workers’ Compensation Act that is designed to help workers injured on the job. The basic idea of workers compensation is to ensure employees receive the care they need for certain workplace injuries. The situations covered by the Act include injuries on the job (section 85), occupational diseases (section 85A), and hearing losses attributed to occupational conditions (85B).

The law requires an employer to pay all medical care costs that are considered reasonable and necessary for the treatment of any injury. The types of compensation may include payment of lost wages and even a reimbursement for travel necessary to get the proper care.

An additional protection for every worker is prohibiting a medical care provider from seeking payment of charges for treatment while the claim is unresolved. Such workers’ comp claims may be contested over the total amount of the costs for care, the type of care, or the reasonableness of the care.

There are limits on the amount of compensation an employee is eligible to receive, currently 80 percent of total spendable earnings of the employee. This is normally understood to mean the net pay after deducting taxes from the weekly earning. The law provides a formula for calculating this amount, and it takes into consideration such things as total income tax exemptions and marital status. In addition to these factors, there is currently a limit of $1,498 weekly for PPD and a maximum of $1,628 weekly for TTD, HP, PTD and death benefits.

There are additional considerations and rules when it comes to determining the total disability payment a worker will receive, including whether the disability is temporary or permanent.

Under the law, employees must file a claim, and their situation will be evaluated by the staff of the Workers’ Compensation Commissioner. There are six different types of settlements that can be approved and awarded by the Commissioner, and the situation and facts of each case decides which type of settlement is appropriate. This process can sometimes be complicated and even intimidating, and it oftentimes takes a qualified workmans comp lawyer to help with the process.

For example, there are two basic Agreements for Settlement and Compromise, and the four other types of settlement are used in conjunction with these. Selecting and working with the right form of settlement will determine how much money is paid out and when, including the potential for a lump payment of funds to be received.

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