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LIGHT v. SECOND INJURY FUND OF IOWA5/31/2002
Shirleen Light appeals the district court's ruling on judicial review reversing the workers' compensation commissioner's award of benefits from the Second Injury Fund (Fund). We reverse.
I. Factual Background and Proceedings. Throughout her lifetime, Light has suffered three separate scheduled member injuries. In 1974, she injured her right leg at her home. The injury required Light to wear a brace for approximately three months and undergo physical therapy. In 1993, Light injured her left hand while working on a conveyor belt at United Parcel Service (UPS). She sustained a complex hand laceration and crushed her second metacarpal. Following this injury, Light did not work for approximately one year. She was given a seventeen percent impairment rating to the left hand and returned to work. In 1994, Light experienced pain in her right knee while working at UPS. Light underwent knee surgery and thereafter received right lower extremity permanent impairment ratings ranging from seven to ten percent.
On September 11, 1995, Light filed a petition against the Fund requesting industrial disability benefits based on the combined effects of the 1974 injury to her right leg and the 1993 injury to her left hand. Although UPS was named as a defendant in the petition, the company was designated a "non-party" because it had paid all medical and indemnity benefits owed in connection with the 1993 injury. On April 12, 1996, Light filed a claim against UPS based on her 1994 right leg injury. The Fund was not a named party in the 1996 petition.
The agency consolidated Light's petitions for an arbitration hearing held on November 13, 1997. The arbitration decision established (1) Light sustained a work-related injury in 1993 to her hand, but no additional indemnity benefits were then owed by UPS; (2) the 1974 injury to the right leg did not cause permanent impairment; (3) Light was not eligible for Fund benefits as a result of the combined effect of the 1974 and 1993 injuries; and (4) Light sustained a seven percent permanent partial impairment to the right leg as a result of the 1994 injury and was entitled to 15.4 weeks of permanent partial disability benefits.
On December 15, 1998, Light filed a second petition against the Fund alleging a claim based upon the combined effect of the 1993 hand injury and the 1994 leg injury. After a hearing, a deputy commissioner concluded claim preclusion barred Light's second action against the Fund because it could have been joined and tried with Light's first Fund claim.
On intra-agency appeal, the Commissioner determined Light was not precluded from litigating her second claim against the Fund and reversed the arbitration decision. The Commissioner held:
No claim preclusion has been shown. Claimant is allowed to first pursue a claim against the employer to determine whether a work-related injury has occurred. A favorable showing has created a claim against the Second Injury Fund of Iowa, which claimant pursued as of the date of the filing of the petition, December 15, 1998. It cannot be stated that the evidence used in the hearing against the employer is the same evidence claimant can rely upon to litigate claim against the defendant Fund. The claim against the defendant Fund is for benefits to compensate claimant for any loss of earning capacity she has due to the combination of the two scheduled losses.
After reviewing the relevant evidence, the Commissioner found Light sustained a thirty percent industrial loss as a result of the combined effects of the 1993 hand injury and the 1994 leg injury. On judicial review, the district court reversed, concluding Light's second action against the Fund was
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