Cody v. McKee Contracting Co., 030620 IAWC, 5066860

Case DateMarch 06, 2020
CourtIowa
MARK CODY, Claimant
v.
MCKEE CONTRACTING CO., Employer,
and
AUTO-OWNERS INS., Insurance Carrier, Defendants.
No. 5066860
Iowa Workers Compensation
Before the Iowa Workers' Compensation Commissioner
March 6, 2020
         Head Note No. 1803           ARBITRATION DECISION           JAMES F. ELLIOTT, DEPUTY WORKERS’ COMPENSATION COMMISSIONER          STATEMENT OF THE CASE          Mark Cody, claimant, filed a petition in arbitration seeking workers’ compensation benefits from employer McKee Contracting Company (McKee) and Auto-Owners Insurance Company, insurance carrier, as a result of an injury he sustained on December 2, 2016 that arose out of and in the course of his employment. This case was heard in Des Moines, Iowa on January 17, 2020, with claimant and his attorney participating via CourtCall video conferencing. The matter was fully submitted on February 21, 2020, with submission of the briefs. The evidence in this case consists of the testimony of claimant, Joint Exhibits 1 - 6, Defendants’ Exhibits A - C and Claimant’s Exhibits 1 - 6.          The parties filed a hearing report at the commencement of the arbitration hearing. On the hearing report, the parties entered into various stipulations. All of those stipulations were accepted and are hereby incorporated into this arbitration decision and no factual or legal issues relative to the parties’ stipulations will be raised or discussed in this decision. The parties are now bound by their stipulations.          ISSUES          The extent of claimant’s disability.          Assessment of costs.          FINDINGS OF FACT          The deputy workers’ compensation commissioner, having heard the testimony and considered the evidence in the record, finds that:          Mark Cody, claimant, was 57 years old at the time of the hearing. Claimant graduated from high school. He has no other formal education. For most of his working life he has worked in construction; from “frame to finish.” (Transcript internal page 17) Claimant has worked in construction for over 35 years. A No. of years ago claimant worked as a janitor while he was also working construction. (Exhibit A, Deposition p. 17) Claimant was self-employed in construction for over 20 years. (Ex. A. Depo. p. 21) Claimant testified he was generally healthy up until his work accident. Claimant started working for McKee on July 15, 2015 as an independent contractor. In November 2016 claimant became an employee of McKee. Claimant was earning $30.00 per hour at McKee. (Ex. C, p. 17) Claimant never returned to work for McKee after his injury of December 2, 2016. (Ex. A, Depo. p. 26)          On December 2, 2016, claimant was on a job site for McKee. Claimant fell from scaffolding about 6 feet. Claimant was taken by air ambulance to Creighton University Medical Center. (Joint Ex. 1, pp. 1 -5) Claimant regained regular consciousness when he was in the MRI at Creighton University Medical Center. Claimant was admitted to the hospital overnight. A CT of his head did not show evidence of acute intracranial or calvarial fracture. Claimant had a larger posterior vertex scalp hematoma. (JE 2, p. 9) Claimant said his left elbow was broken, he had a fractured tailbone, and sprained left ankle.          Claimant received treatment for his left elbow and right ankle at Professional Medical Solutions from December 20, 2016 through January 24, 2018. (JE 3, pp. 10 -27) Claimant reported to Annie Knierim, M.D. on January 24, 2017 that his ankle was healing and elbow was doing fairly well. Dr. Knierim noted claimant had a left elbow dislocation with small nondisplaced fracture type 1 of the coronoid process of the left ulna. (JE 3, p. 16) Claimant was complaining of fuzziness and difficulty in thinking due to his concussion. (JE 3, p. 14) On February 28, 2017, claimant was complaining of left hip and neck pain. (JE 3, p. 17)          On January 23, 2017, Jeremiah Ladd, M.D. of the Nebraska Spine + Pain Center began treating claimant for cervical pain. His impression was,
• Neck strain
• Cervical disc degeneration C5-C6 . . .
• Cervical disc degeneration C6-C7 . . .
• Cervical spondylosis without myelopathy or radiculopathy . . .
• Cervical spondylolisthesis . . .
Post-concussive syndrome
(JE 4, p. 34) An MRI of February 21, 2017 showed,
1) Severe bilateral foraminal stenosis at ¶ 3-4 and C5-6.
2) Moderate to severe bilateral foraminal stenosis at ¶ 6-7.
...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT