Another misconception that some injured workers have is that the insurance adjustor is there to help you with your work injury case. The insurance adjustor works for your employer and/or their insurance company and has no duty to protect your rights or even tell you what the law is. Also, sometimes a nurse or medical case manager will be assigned to your case. The nurse will come to your appointments, talk to your doctors and often act like they are your friend. Keep in mind that they also are working for your employer and/or their insurance company so be careful what you tell them. They are trained to find things in your past medical treatment and try to use those things against you in your work injury case. While honesty is always the best policy that does not mean you should tell them your whole life story. Along the same lines, often people think that they have to let the medical case manager into the examination room. The answer is no, you do not have to let them in during the examination. However, under Iowa law they can speak with your doctors and other medical providers when you are not present.
Sometimes clients will come to see me after they have fired an attorney they found in the phone book who advertised as a workers’ compensation attorney. Any Iowa attorney can advertise that they handle workers’ compensation cases even though they may have never handled a single case. What you need to look for is an attorney who advertises “practicing primarily in workers’ compensation”. This means that the attorney has certified with the Iowa State Bar Association that at least 40% of their law practice involves workers’ compensation and that they have spent at least 15 hours per year taking continuing education classes about Iowa’s workers’ compensation laws. Iowa’s work injury laws are far too complex for someone without knowledge and experience to represent an injured worker. Only a qualified Iowa workers’ compensation attorney can make sure that your rights are protected and that you are treated fairly in your case.
Another thing to look for when searching for an attorney is what results they have obtained for their clients and what their past clients have to say. Don’t take “all my cases are confidential” as an answer. Ask yourself do you want someone representing you with a proven track record or do you want to take a gamble on the attorney you chose. If an attorney has obtained good results for past clients and past clients have good things to say, then chances are they are qualified to to represent an injured worker. Whether you live in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Iowa City, Ft. Dodge, Marshalltown or even outside of the state of Iowa, you should find an experienced Iowa work injury attorney to help you.