Opinion
No. 2-398 / 01-1661
Filed October 30, 2002
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Jon C. Fister, Judge.
Employee appeals from denial of workers' compensation benefits. AFFIRMED.
Ruth M. Carter of Carter Law Firm, P.C., Sioux City, for appellant.
Gayla R. Harrison of Harrison, McKay, Moreland Webber, P.C., Ottumwa, for appellee.
Considered by Vogel, P.J., and Miller and Vaitheswaran, JJ.
In her arbitration decision, the deputy workers' compensation commissioner determined Joseph Sheppard had sustained an eye injury in the course of his employment with Premier Casting, and awarded him limited medical benefits. More extensive medical benefits were denied, and Sheppard's claims to healing period benefits and permanent partial disability benefits were determined to be moot, as the deputy found Sheppard's further medical expenses and permanent eye impairment directly resulted from Sheppard's own abuse of topical anesthetics. The decision was upheld upon agency appeal and judicial review, and Sheppard appeals. Although Sheppard spends considerable effort alleging errors of law on the part of the district court, our ultimate concern is whether the agency decision was affected by error at law, or supported by substantial evidence. See Iowa Code § 17A.19(8) (1999).
Sheppard contends the deputy erred when assessing the burden of proof on causation. He seems to argue that, once an employee has proved a work-related injury, he or she has no need to further establish the injury proximately caused the disability for which compensation is sought. He argues that instead, once an injury is established, it falls to the employer to prove an affirmative defense that the employee willfully caused the subsequent disability. We agree with Sheppard that an employer bears the burden of establishing an affirmative defense. See Garcia v. Naylor Concrete Co., 650 N.W.2d 87, 90 (Iowa 2002). However, such fact does not relieve a claimant from proving, as correctly noted by the deputy, "that the injury is a proximate cause of the claimed disability." Grundmeyer v. Weyerhaeuser Co., 649 N.W.2d 744, 752 (Iowa 2002).
Given the record before the agency, including damaging evidence from Sheppard's treating physicians, we find substantial evidence supports the finding that Sheppard's initial eye injury would have healed within five days, but for his own actions. See Dunlavey v. Econ. Fire Cas. Co., 526 N.W.2d 845, 853 (Iowa 1995) (noting medical causation is essentially within the domain of expert testimony). Accordingly, there is substantial evidence in support of the agency determination that Sheppard failed to establish the initial injury proximately caused his extended medical expenses and, ultimately, his permanent eye impairment. The agency decision must be affirmed.