Waldinger Corp. v. Mettler

• Decision Date: 06 July 2012
• Docket Number: No. 10–0502.,10–0502.
• Citation: 817 N.W.2d 1
• Parties: The WALDINGER CORPORATION, Emcasco Insurance Company, and Second Injury Fund of Iowa, Appellants, v. Michael B. METTLER, Appellee.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

817 N.W.2d 1

The WALDINGER CORPORATION, Emcasco Insurance Company, and Second Injury Fund of Iowa, Appellants,

v.Michael B. METTLER, Appellee.

No. 10–0502.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

July 6, 2012.

D. Brian Scieszinski of Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor & Fairgrave, P.C., Des Moines, for appellants Waldinger Corporation and Emcasco Insurance Company.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Deborah M. Stein, Assistant Attorney General, for appellant Second Injury Fund.

Harry W. Dahl, Des Moines, for appellee.

HECHT, Justice.

On further review, we are asked to determine whether Iowa's workers' compensation statute allows a claimant to recover healing period benefits—after he has reached maximum medical improvement and returned to substantially similar work following a work-related injury—for a period of approximately thirteen weeks of postsurgical convalescence during which he was unable to work. The workers' compensation commissioner awarded such benefits in this case, but the court of appeals reversed the award on the ground that Iowa Code section 85.34(1) (2011) does not authorize the benefits under the circumstances of this case.¹ We conclude the statute does authorize an award of healing period benefits in this case. Accordingly, we vacate that portion of the decision of the court of appeals, affirm the district court's judgment affirming the award, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

Upon graduation from high school in 1969, Michael Mettler began working as a plumber. After five years, he became a journeyman plumber in 1974. He joined the Army reserves and was called to active duty in the early 1980s. While in the military service, he fell from a stepladder and landed on his elbows, breaking both upper extremities and requiring surgery. He also injured his right ankle during his service. Mettler remained on active military duty until 2001 when he received an honorable discharge.

Mettler returned to work as a union plumber for the Waldinger Corporation. Soon after, he reported pain in his right ankle which he attributed to walking on uneven construction sites and climbing ladders and scaffolding. Mettler and Waldinger stipulated that Mettler sustained a work-related injury to his right lower extremity on August 9, 2001. In January 2002, Dr. Lee diagnosed posterior talar dome lesions and discussed with Mettler options including restricting activities, transferring to a desk job, or having surgery. Mettler opted for surgery.

On February 6, 2002, Dr. Lee performed surgery which included medial malleolar osteotomy, ankle arthrotomy with excision of multiple loose bodies, repair of an OCD lesion, and an osteochondral graft. Dr. Lee's postsurgical diagnosis included talar dome lesions, arthritis, and ankle synovitis. Mettler received some relief from the surgery and, after a period of convalescence, returned to work at Waldinger on May 10, 2002.

In July 2002, Mettler saw Dr. Lee again and again reported right ankle discomfort. Dr. Lee recommended a second ankle surgery. On September 25, 2002, Dr. Lee performed arthroscopic surgery with extensive debridement of degenerative changes and synovitic tissue in Mettler's right ankle. Dr. Lee noted significant degenerative changes during the arthroscopic procedure and predicted Mettler's right ankle would likely get progressively worse over time. Dr. Lee released Mettler to return to work on October 11, 2002, and informed him that he had reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) on November 15, 2002. Dr. Lee rated Mettler's right lower extremity permanent impairment at five percent in a letter to Waldinger's workers' compensation insurer on December 24, 2002.

Mettler “turned” his ankle in February 2003 and returned to Dr. Lee. Mettler reported on this occasion that he still had significant pain and discomfort in his ankle. In October of 2003, Dr. Lee suggested a series of injections which were administered in early 2004. Mettler received little if any relief from the injections, and Dr. Lee recommended Mettler limit his physical activity on his right ankle as much as possible and informed Mettler that work in a seated position was most appropriate for him.

On July 1, 2004, Dr. Lee performed a second right ankle arthroscopy with extensive debridement. Mettler responded well to this surgery and, after a healing period, returned to work for Waldinger. After seeing Mettler on April 6, 2005, Dr. Lee wrote to Waldinger expressing his opinion that he expected Mettler to experience ankle problems in the future and have worsening degenerative changes that might require ankle fusion or replacement. Dr. Lee's letter reported that Mettler was again at maximum medical improvement and rated his permanent impairment at seven percent of the right lower extremity.

Mettler again consulted Dr. Lee on June 30, 2005, with right ankle complaints, and in September 2005, Dr. Lee opined an ankle fusion or replacement were among the possible treatment options. Mettler sought an independent medical examination with Dr. Kuhnlein. Dr. Kuhnlein diagnosed osteoarthritis with chronic pain and an unstable ankle joint, concluded Mettler had reached MMI, and agreed with Dr. Lee's prediction that Mettler would need right ankle arthrodesis in the future. Dr. Kuhnlein rated Mettler's impairment at thirteen percent to the right lower extremity.

Mettler's employment with Waldinger ended in 2006, but he continued working as a plumber for other employers. In October of 2006, Mettler filed an original notice and petition with the Iowa Workers' Compensation Commissioner alleging a claim against Waldinger and asserting entitlement to benefits from the Second Injury Fund.²

In July 2007, Mettler again saw Dr. Lee for ankle pain. Although Mettler inquired about an ankle replacement procedure, Dr. Lee recommended another ankle arthroscopy. On September 18, 2007, Dr. Lee performed a third ankle arthroscopy with extensive debridement of Mettler's right ankle. He released Mettler to return to work without restrictions on December 7, 2007. In a letter written in April 2008, Dr. Lee opined that Mettler's right ankle condition was a result of the August 9, 2001 work-related injury, rated Mettler's impairment at fifteen percent of the right lower extremity, and recommended Mettler be restricted to sedentary work.

Following a hearing and an intra-agency appeal, the commissioner found Mettler reached MMI on April 6, 2005, and awarded permanent partial disability benefits for a scheduled loss of fifteen percent of the right lower extremity with interest as provided in Iowa Code section 85.30. The commissioner further ordered Waldinger to pay healing period benefits for the period from the date of the third arthroscopic surgery, September 18, 2007, until Mettler returned to work as a plumber on December 7, 2007. The commissioner also found Mettler had sustained an industrial disability of fifteen percent for which the Second Injury Fund owed benefits under Iowa Code section 85.64.

Waldinger filed a petition for judicial review contending the commissioner erred in awarding healing period benefits following the September 2007 surgery, in finding fifteen percent disability to Mettler's right lower extremity, and in failing to apportion Mettler's lower extremity disability under Iowa Code section 85.34(7) to account for the fact that Mettler had lost part of the use of his right leg before he began working for Waldinger. Mettler filed a cross-petition for judicial review requesting his claim against the Second Injury Fund be remanded to the agency on the ground that the agency miscalculated and understated his loss of earnings as a factor in the assessment of industrial disability for purposes of the award against the Second Injury Fund. The district court affirmed the commissioner's award for lower extremity disability and rejected Waldinger's contention that the disability should be apportioned. The court also affirmed the award of healing period benefits, but remanded the Second Injury Fund claim to the agency for further proceedings as Mettler requested.

Waldinger and the Second Injury Fund appealed the district court's ruling, and we transferred the appeal to the court of appeals. The court of appeals affirmed the commissioner's determination that Waldinger was liable for the entirety of Mettler's lower extremity disability but reversed the district court's rulings remanding the industrial disability claim against the Second Injury Fund and awarding healing period benefits. Mettler filed an application urging us to review the two issues which were reversed by the court of appeals. We granted further review, however, to decide only whether the commissioner correctly interpreted Iowa Code section 85.34(1) to allow an award of healing period benefits for a period of disability commencing on September 18, 2007, the date of Mettler's last surgery, until December 7, 2007, when he returned to work as a plumber. We vacate the decision of the court of appeals on the healing period issue and affirm the district court's judgment affirming the commissioner's award of healing period benefits under section 85.34(1). As our further review does not address them, the decision of the court of appeals on all other matters raised in this appeal shall be final.

II. Scope of Review.

Mettler's claim for healing period benefits turns on whether the workers' compensation commissioner properly interpreted Iowa Code section 85.34(1). This court has previously concluded in several cases that the legislature did not grant the commissioner authority to interpret chapter 85. See Finch v. Schneider Specialized Carriers, Inc., 700 N.W.2d 328, 330 (Iowa 2005); Mycogen Seeds v. Sands, 686 N.W.2d 457, 464 (Iowa 2004). However, we recently explored the analytical framework for determining on judicial review the extent to which we give deference to an agency's interpretations of law. See ...