Supreme Court Upholds Denial of Healing Period Benefits to Worker After Unauthorized Surgery

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that an injured worker was not entitled to healing period benefits for her recovery time after undergoing surgery that her employer had not authorized. Case: Brewer-Strong v. HNI Corp., No. 16–1364, 06/08/2018, published. Facts and procedural history: Kelly Brewer-Strong began working for the HNI Corp. in 2007. Her job duties involved repetitive lifting and twisting. After Brewer-Strong suffered an injury to her left shoulder in December 2011, HNI authorized her to see Dr. Tina Stec. HNI had authorized Stec to treat Brewer-Strong for a prior injury to the&...