J.E. Adams Industries, a Cedar Rapids company, has been cited by the state under the Iowa Occupational and Safety Health Act. The company makes parts for self-service car washes, according to KCRG.

An accident occurred on May 4, and a man, 43, lost part of his hand on the job. According to KCRG, the company "allegedly failed to provide point of operation guards for a machine that a 43-year-old man was operating when he was injured." The fine for a violation of this magnitude is $2,500. It also requires that the company install the point of operation guards by the 23rd of August.

The company has the right to protest the violations and fine within 15 days of receiving the ticket. After that, everything is final.

Workplace accident are serious. They can leave you severely injured, permanently maimed, or worse. If you or someone you know has been injured on the job, contact an experienced Cedar Rapids Workers' Compensation Lawyer at the Pete Leehey Law Firm, P.C., by dialing 877-209-9452.

I can’t begin to explain how sick I am of workers’ compensation insurance companies that jack people around. I just talked to a gentleman this morning who has been trying to handle his claim on his own. It came time for his second medical opinion, which by law, the insurance company must “reimburse” him for. Yes, technically, the insurance company can force this man to pay for the second opinion, and then reimburse him the cost. That is exactly what this insurance company is insisting on. How foolish is that?

It’s foolish, because this man may have never contacted me or any other lawyer if the company would just pay for the second opinion directly. Now, I’m involved (I’ll front the damn money), and this insurance company is going to pay the fair value of the claim when it’s all said and done, instead of paying pennies on the dollar like they thought they could do with this guy. The whole scheme tumbled down because the insurance company refused to pay for the second opinion outright, but instead insisted on reimbursing the worker.

Another scenario I was presented with this morning: Injured worker gets approval to go to the doctor after her work injury. The insurance company then refuses to pay the $37.00 radiology bill that was a part of the appointment. All this lady wanted was to get her medical bills paid. If the insurance company had paid the $37.00 bill, this lady probably never contacts me. I am quite confident that this insurance company will now pay that medical bill, plus several thousand dollars in weekly benefits that they otherwise would have cheated this poor woman out of.

If workers’ compensation companies would quit playing games with people, if they would treat injured workers’ with some small degree of respect, I wouldn’t get nearly as many calls. I guess I should thank these insurance companies for keeping me jacked up over the stupid things they do to injured workers. The biggest abusers of the workers’ compensation system, far and away, are the insurance companies. I’m honored to take these out-of-control insurance companies on in the name of good, hard-working Iowans.

I’ve found myself devoting much of my work time to filing literally every claim I am currently handling. This is not a good development.

Years ago, I was able to resolve many claims promptly and reasonably with insurance adjusters. It was prudent practice to wait on filing cases until the case was fully ready for settlement. In most cases, this would completely avoid litigation, and the need for the insurance company to hire a lawyer. The result was that cases were concluded about a year faster, and with less expense for all involved. That is no longer the situation.

Now, it seems that to get an insurance company to talk seriously (as in reasonably) about settlement, you have to file the case, go through paper discovery and depositions, and have a trial date looming ominously. Then, “on the courthouse steps” the insurance adjusters finally want to talk settlement. So, insurance industry, when you find yourselves asking “why are you filing your cases right away?” the answer is to avoid the absurd delays caused by the complete inattention of most of the insurance industry.

I file my clients’ cases right away, because if I wait untll the cases are settlement-ready, and then wait several more weeks until I figure out that the insurance adjuster isn’t going to be reasonable and timely talk settlement, I end up wasting months toward the ultimate conclusion of the case. So, I file right away. The insurance industry hires their lawyers right away. The defense lawyers educate the insurance adjusters why they should consider prompt settlement.

The insurance adjusters nonetheless ignore their lawyers until the last minute, when there is a trial date on the immediate horizon. Then guess what? The insurance adjusters get reasonable, pay attention to the case, and get it settled on reasonable terms. The same settlement could have been reached months earlier and without the expenditure of thousands of dollars, but the insurance industry has forced my hand. So, I file right away. I do a better job for my clients, because I force the insurance adjusters to pay attention to their files. The case gets concluded faster.

You, insurance industry, have brought about this situation. It is unfortunate, but it is on your doorstep. You’re not doing your jobs. You’re causing needless litigation. When the insurance industry predictably cries about all the lawsuits, don’t listen. Do the same thing the insurance industry does when lawyers try to reach early resolution of cases: Ignore them.

The Iowa Bar Association Young Lawyers Division recently published a brochure titled “On Your Own” Your Legal Rights and Responsabilities as an Adult. The brochure gives summaries of important legal issues which commonly effect everyday people.

The “Employment” section provides an excellent overview of Iowa’s workers’ compensation system and some basic things every worker needs to be aware of. For your convenience I have pasted the overview on workers’ compensation below. If you have had a work injury or would like more information on Iowa’s workers’ compensation system, do not hesitate to contact the Pete Leehey Law Firm.

If you are injured in the course of your employment, you are entitled to compensation and protections provided under Iowa’s Worker’s Compensation law. A compensable injury is one that interferes with a bodily function, or impairs bodily health, and that grew out of or occurred in the course of your employment. Some injuries occur over time from the accumulation of small and/or repeated actions. Others occur because of a single acute and traumatic event.All employers, no matter how small, are covered by worker’s compensation law. There are many types of benefits provided under the worker’s compensation law, including payment of medical expenses, paid leave for work time lost due to the injury and/or treatment for it, rehabilitation benefits, death benefits, industrial disability benefits, and disability benefits.

If you are injured in the course of your employment, you should immediately notify your employer of the injury and how it occurred—but do not wait more than 90 days after the discovery of your injury to report it to your employer.

Reporting of Claims: An Employer’s First Report of injury must be filed with the Workers’ Compensation Commissioner when an employee alleges an injury arising out of and in the course of employment, which results in time lost from work of more than three days, permanent injury, or death. The report is to be filed with the Workers’ Compensation Commissioner within four days of notice or knowledge of the injury. The report is also to be filed with the insurer so the employee’s claim can receive proper consideration. Forms for reporting injuries may be obtained from the workers’ compensation commissioner.

Notice of Injury: The law provides that the employer must have notice or knowledge of an alleged injury within 90 days of its occurrence; if not, benefits may be denied. The 90-day period begins to run when the employee knew, or should have known, the injury arose out of and in the course of employment. The employee must notify the employer of the injury within 90 days. It is best to notify your employer in writing and to keep a copy of the notice for your own records. If a 90-day notice is not given by the worker, all rights to workers’ compensation benefits are lost, unless the employer has actual notice of the injury.

Statute of Limitations: The statute of limitations is the period within which you must bring a claim. Generally, the statute of limitations for an injury is two years from the date of the injury. If you’ve been paid weekly workers’ compensation benefits, then the statute of limitations is three years from the date of the check that was the last weekly payment. Payment of medical benefits (doctor bills, hospital bills, etc.) does not extend the two years from the date of injury that you normally have within which you must file suit. If you’ve received medical benefits, but not weekly checks for your time off work, or weekly checks from someone other than the workers’ compensation insurance company, then you only have two years from the date of injury to file. If you don’t file within the statute of limitations period, then your right to file a claim based upon your injury will be lost forever.

For more information, contact Kent Smith at the Pete Leehey Law Firm, P.C. and check out the Iowa Division of Workers’ Compensation website.