The Patterson Law Firm and attorneys Michael J. Miller and Brittany N. Salyars successfully defended an employer in a workers’ compensation matter, asserting that Iowa Code section 85.34(2)(x), which applies to all injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2017, should be upheld as constitutional.

The worker filed a workers’ compensation Petition against her employer for an injury to her left shoulder, which occurred on March 2, 2018. The Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner applied Iowa Code section 85.34(2)(x) and found that the worker’s permanent impairment should be determined solely by use of the AMA Guides –with no consideration of lay testimony or agency expertise.

In her Petition for Judicial Review, the worker argued section 85.34(2)(x) violated her substantive due process rights and the separation of powers doctrine, and that its enactment constituted an impermissible delegation of legislative authority to a non-governmental body. Ultimately, the Court on Judicial Review agreed with the arguments set forth by the Patterson Law Firm and found that section 85.34(2)(x) is constitutional. Thus, the worker’s Petition for Judicial Review was denied, and the final agency decision was upheld.