An Iowa appellate court on Wednesday denied an appeal by a man who sought additional workers compensation benefits after suffering off-the-job injuries he claims were directly connected to a workplace eye injury.
The Iowa Court of Appeals ruled that Robert Thomas failed to prove that injuries he suffered in June 2018 after stepping off a pontoon boat were directly related to a workplace injury to his right eye in January 2017.
After the work injury, Mr. Thomas underwent multiple eye surgeries but continued to have trouble with depth perception.
He claimed the eye problems contributed to the boat fall, during which he suffered a head laceration, three fractured teeth and maxillary sinus fractures.
A deputy comp commissioner agreed with Mr. Thomas and awarded healing period benefits, but the employer, Archer Daniels Midland Co., appealed, and the decision was later overturned by a comp commissioner, who also ruled the company was entitled to a credit for overpayment of benefits.
In its ruling, the appellate court said speculation over whether the boat incident was caused by the work injury was not enough to establish medical causation, and that the commission didn’t err in awarding the company an overpayment credit against the additional benefits.