Typically those who develop an illness after years of working rely on the “Discovery Rule”, which allows the employee to seek benefits years after their employment ended as long as they seek benefits in a timely fashion starting from the date they find out their illness was work-related. In Iowa the Supreme Court ruled on a case that may set a precedent that even a one-time injury, and not only a cumulative illness, can be eligible for benefits under this rule.

Bruce Baker worked for Bridgestone/Firestone starting in 1994 and injured his back in 2010. On the day of the injury he reported it, and went back to work after an examination and light treatment. Immediately after the initial injury he did not think it was so serious, but it ended up bothering him for years afterwards. In 2007 an Iowa court denied another worker latent benefits for a one-time injury, under the assumption that if a one-time injury was severe enough to cause injury years after the fact, the injury would be obviously traumatic (in this case an example of an obviously traumatic injury was that of a worker getting hit by a large piece of equipment) and the worker should have known it would have serious effects.

Two years after the injury Baker was told that the statute of limitations had run out on his injury and he would not receive any more compensation for any medical treatments he might need to seek. He filed a petition with the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commission for temporary benefits and permanent benefits but was denied because the Commission said his injury was not cumulative and he should have realized the severity of it and filed before the statute of limitations ran out.

Mr. Baker said he did not realize how severe his injury was until after the two year limit had run out and the District Court applied the discovery rule, saying that even single event injuries are eligible for the discovery rule as long as the worker seeks benefits within two years of determining that their injury or illness was work-related. His employer appealed but the state’s Supreme Court stepped in to rule on the matter.

This Supreme Court ruled that, in Iowa, the discovery rule could be applied to both cumulative injuries or illnesses or an injury sustained from a one-time event. Some workers suffer an occupational injury and they do not know how serious the injury was, sometimes the real issues do not manifest themselves until years later. While that may set a precedent for future workers Mr. Baker’s case went back to the Commission for a new hearing.