Opinion ID: 2027645
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Basis for Computing Late Payment Penalties Under Iowa Code Section 86.13.

Text: If there is a delay in the commencement of benefits and there is no reasonable or probable cause or excuse for such delay, the industrial commissioner shall award benefits in addition to those benefits payable under this chapter, or chapter 85, 85A, or 85B, up to fifty percent of the amount of benefits that were unreasonably delayed or denied. Iowa Code § 86.13 (1991). Petitioner asserts and the commissioner found that the employer failed to make disability payments based on the scheduled member injuries when it received the permanent impairment ratings. In his decision, the commissioner determined that not only did the employer fail to make timely payments, no reasonable or probable cause or excuse was given for the delay. Based upon his findings as to the delay, the commissioner looked to petitioner's permanent impairment ratings of four percent to the left thumb, five percent of the left upper extremity and five percent of the right upper extremity. The information regarding these impairment ratings was given to the employer on July 12, 1989; however, no payment was made for the thumb until December 20, 1989, and no payment was made for the hands until February 14, 1990. Based upon this information, the commissioner held the claimant was entitled to a minimum of four percent of 60 weeks for the thumb which is 2.4 weeks; five percent of 250 weeks for the left arm which is 12.5 weeks; and five percent of 250 weeks for the right arm which is another 12.5 weeks for a total of 27.4 weeks of benefits. The commissioner then took the total of 27.4 weeks times the rate for the July 8, 1987 injury of $245.54 for a total of $6727.80. A penalty for fifty percent of this amount was assessed. The commissioner assessed a similar fifty percent penalty for the shoulder injury based on scheduled member impairment benefits of $5524.65. Petitioner argues that penalties assessed as a percentage of benefits should have been based on benefits computed on the combined and converted rate rather than the separate scheduled member impairment ratings for the individual injuries. We disagree. If the employer or insurance carrier were required to use the combined and converted rate, that would have been good cause for delaying benefit payments until the determination of the combined rate was finalized by the commissioner. A finding that the benefits should have commenced at an earlier time necessarily carries with it a determination that earlier payment was to have been based on the scheduled member impairment and later reconciled as part of the total award of temporary and permanent disability benefits.