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An injured employee is obligated to give notice to his/her employer within 90 days of sustaining a work injury. Iowa Code section 85.23 provides that an injured worker shall given notice of a work injury within 90 days of sustaining the injury unless the employer has actual knowledge of the occurrence of an injury within 90 days of its occurrence.
The purpose of the 90 day notice provision is to permit the employer to make a prompt investigation of the claimed injury while the events are fresh and the evidence remains available to investigate the claim. Moreover, an early notice of the injury permits the employer to make an early direction of medical care and presumably early medical intervention will result in better care and quicker healing. In general, the interests of both the employee and the employer support early notice, early investigation, prompt medical care, and hopefully improved medical outcomes.
That being said, the notice defense can be a difficult issue with numerous legal issues to be resolved. For instance, when is an employee required to give notice of a cumulative injury. Often times, the employee will experience some type of repetitive trauma type injuries and may seek treatment with a family physician for a period of time without knowing that the injury is related to work or not believing that it will be a significant injury that should or need be pursued through worker's compensation. The trouble comes when the treatment continues for months or years before the injury is reported to the employer. Then questions arise about whether the notice was timely and whether the claim is barred.
For this reason, it is in all parties' interests to encourage prompt reporting of injuries. Employees should report any physical ailments they may even suspect are work related to ensure that their 90 day notice is covered and the claim is preserved. Employers should include personnel policies that require prompt reporting of work injuries. Moreover, employers should repeat this directive to employees, encourage prompt reporting of injuries, and not foster, encourage, or even permit a work environment that discourages or threatens any type of adverse work reaction to the filing of a work comp claim. In fact, as noted above, early reporting and intervention is likely in both the employee and employer's best interests and should be encouraged to prevent misunderstandings and potential forfeitures of an employee's rights.
Posted by William H. Grell on January 11, 2008 4:08 PM
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