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Workers' Compensation

Your Iowa workers’ compensation lawyers are experienced in all areas of workers’ compensation law.

Des Moines Workers’ Compensation Lawyers

Decades of Fighting for Injured Iowa Workers’ Rights & Benefits

At LaMarca Law Group, P.C., we have long been advocates for the rights and safety of working men and women. When hardworking Iowans are hurt on the job, we fight for the financial support they may be entitled to receive. Our workers’ compensation practice is dedicated to helping injured and disabled workers claim the benefits they may have earned.

If you or someone you love has been injured on the job, our Iowa workers’ compensation lawyers can guide you through applying for workers’ compensation or disability benefits and help you understand how the system works in Des Moines and across the state.

Don’t let bureaucratic red tape stand between you and the compensation you may be owed. Call LaMarca Law Group, P.C. today at (515) 705-0233.

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Your Iowa Lawyers
We have dedicated our lives to protecting the rights and futures of injured Iowans. We work to ensure that your case is handled while you focus on your recovery.

A Multidisciplinary Team for Complex Claims

Workers’ compensation cases are rarely simple. Multiple parties, disputed facts, and layered legal questions can all complicate what should be a straightforward claim. Our lawyers approach each case collaboratively, drawing on experience across personal injury and business law to examine your situation from every angle. That multidisciplinary perspective matters most in contested claims, occupational disease cases, and situations where third-party liability may expand the compensation potentially available to you.

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Many of the cases our trial lawyers have successfully litigated resulted in meaningful safety improvements through the adoption or strengthening of workplace standards and laws protecting workers. Those outcomes represent something we’re genuinely proud of.

Understanding Workers’ Compensation in Iowa

The Iowa Workers’ Compensation Act governs how benefits are provided to workers who suffer job-related injuries. Iowa operates a no-fault system, meaning workers may be eligible for benefits regardless of who caused the injury. That protection extends to most full-time, part-time, and seasonal workers in the state.

Anyone who develops an occupational disease, hearing loss, or sustains a work-related injury may qualify for benefits. Speaking with a workers’ comp lawyer in Des Moines is often a helpful way to understand your options and whether pursuing a claim makes sense for your situation.

Some of the most common reasons workers file for compensation are injuries resulting from:

Workers’ Compensation Benefits Under Iowa Law

Iowa law provides several categories of compensation depending on the nature and severity of the injury. Knowing what may be available is essential before you decide how to proceed.

Medical Benefits
Under Iowa Code §85.27, the employer must provide reasonable and necessary medical care for a work injury. The employer generally has the right to select the treating provider, though injured workers can request alternate care in certain circumstances.

Temporary Disability Benefits
If an injury prevents a worker from performing any work, temporary total disability (TTD) benefits may be available, generally calculated as a percentage of the worker’s average weekly earnings. If the worker returns to lower-paying light-duty work during recovery, temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits may apply instead.

Permanent Disability Benefits
Once a worker reaches maximum medical improvement (MMI), the focus shifts to permanent disability. Iowa distinguishes between scheduled member injuries (injuries to extremities such as arms, hands, or shoulders, compensated according to a fixed schedule of weeks) and body-as-a-whole injuries (such as back, hip, neck, or head injuries, compensated based on loss of earning capacity as assessed by a workers’ compensation deputy).

Second Injury Fund of Iowa
Iowa’s Second Injury Fund may provide additional benefits when a worker who already has a permanent disability in one hand, arm, foot, leg, or eye suffers a subsequent permanent injury to a different hand, arm, foot, leg, or eye. In the right circumstances, this can be a significant source of additional compensation.

Death Benefits
When a work injury results in a fatality, qualifying surviving family members may be entitled to death benefits under Iowa law.

When a Third Party May Also Be Responsible

Workers’ compensation covers injuries that arise out of and in the course of employment, but it isn’t always the only avenue for recovery. In certain situations, a third party beyond your employer may bear legal responsibility for what happened. When that’s the case, you may be able to pursue compensation beyond what Iowa’s statutory workers’ compensation schedule provides.

Responsible third parties can include:

  • Manufacturers of defective products
  • Other drivers on the road
  • Independent contractors
  • Property owners
  • And more

Our trial lawyers have handled cases involving companies that sold, marketed, or failed to properly maintain equipment leased or used on a job site; failed to provide adequate warnings for volatile or flammable materials; or whose negligence led to electrical, propane, or natural gas fires, explosions, and other preventable incidents. Identifying those responsible parties early can substantially affect what recovery may look like for you.

Don’t Let Delay Cost You Your Claim

Iowa law sets firm deadlines for workers’ compensation claims. Under Iowa Code §85.23, injured workers must notify their employer of a work injury within 90 days of when they knew or should have known the injury arose from employment. Missing that window can result in denial of benefits. Under Iowa Code §85.26, if no disability benefits have been paid, a petition must be filed with the Iowa Division of Workers’ Compensation within two years of the injury date. If weekly disability benefits have been paid, a worker generally has three years from the last payment to file for additional benefits.

These deadlines are real, and the consequences of missing them can be severe. If you were injured on the job in the Des Moines area, speaking with a workers’ compensation attorney as soon as possible can be an important step in protecting your rights.

Contact Our Workers’ Comp Lawyers in Des Moines

The workers’ compensation attorneys at LaMarca Law Group, P.C. are ready to help injured workers across Iowa understand their options and pursue the benefits they may be owed. This is not something you should have to navigate alone.

Contact our office for a free consultation. Call (515) 705-0233 or reach out online to get started on your claim.

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Our Attorneys

At LaMarca Law Group, P.C., our attorneys focus on each client’s background, needs, and goals to determine the best course of legal action for you. We devise practical, result-oriented strategies tailored to pursue the best possible outcome in every case. We are champions for our clients and believe you should be able to trust your attorney to be there as an advocate and companion throughout the legal process.

Our Main Priority is Your Success

Over 100 Years of Successfully Defending the Rights of Iowans

Our top priority is to devise customized legal strategies that are tailored to the unique legal needs of our clients, no matter how simple or complicated their situations, might be.

  • $97,000 Accounting Malpractice
    $97,000 Accounting Malpractice

    Settlement from county seat accounting and valuation firm resulting from breaches of ERISA duties in the creation, management, administration, reporting, and valuation of ESOP plan for a small Iowa business.

  • $4.5 Million Accounting Malpractice
    $4.5 Million Accounting Malpractice

    Settlement from a national accounting firm to investors who bought stocks and bonds in reliance on the firm’s faulty financial information.

  • $450,000 Acid Exposure
    $450,000 Acid Exposure

    Settlement following an arbitration decision awarding permanent total disability benefits for an industrial worker who was exposed to hydrochloric acid developing reactive airway disease.

  • 25% Industrial Disability Ankle Injury
    25% Industrial Disability Ankle Injury

    Arbitration decision with an award of 25% industrial disability for a production worker who sustained an ankle injury.

  • $115,000 Back Injury
    $115,000 Back Injury

    Settlement for a licensed practical nurse who suffered a severe low-back strain while lifting a patient.

  • $110,000 Back Injury
    $110,000 Back Injury

    Recovery in a contested workers’ compensation case for a 29-year-old factory worker who fell off a conveyor belt at work and suffered a back injury.

Put Your Iowa Lawyers On Your Side Today

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LaMarca Law Group

Our Promise to You
  • Over 100 Years of Experience
    Our dedicated Iowa attorneys have been protecting the rights of injured Iowans for decades giving us the knowledge and skill to successfully advocate on your behalf.
  • Available 24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week
    We have the largest plaintiff law firm in all of Iowa meaning that at any time of the day or night, there will be someone available to answer questions regarding your case.
  • We Handle All the Details
    From the moment you call our office, our team is dedicated to handling any of your legal needs in house from beginning to end. All you have to worry about is your recovery. We take care of the rest.
  • Full- Service Law Firm
    Whether you were injured at work or because of someone else's negligence, our full-service law firm has the knowledge and the skill to successfully advocate on your behalf.