Opinion ID: 1987331
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Heading: Applicable law regarding review-reopening claim.

Text: Review-reopening proceedings are governed by Iowa Code section 86.14(2) which states: In a proceeding to reopen an award for payments or agreement for settlement as provided by section 86.13, inquiry shall be into whether or not the condition of the employee warrants an end to, diminishment of, or increase of compensation so awarded or agreed upon. Section 86.14(2) thus establishes a procedure for determining whether a change in the employee's employment condition warrants an increase in compensation benefits previously awarded. See Blacksmith v. All-American, Inc., 290 N.W.2d 348, 350 (Iowa 1980). To justify an increase in compensation benefits, [t]he claimant carries the burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that, subsequent to the date of the award under review, he or she has suffered an impairment or lessening of earning capacity proximately caused by the original injury.  Collentine, 525 N.W.2d at 829 (emphasis added). We have stated on several occasions that industrial disability is the product of many factors, not just physical impairment. See Overholser, 566 N.W.2d at 875; Collentine, 525 N.W.2d at 829; McSpadden v. Big Ben Coal Co., 288 N.W.2d 181, 192 (Iowa 1980). Thus, we have recognized that a necessary showing in a review-reopening proceeding, i.e., lessening of earning capacity, may be made without proof of change in physical condition. See Overholser, 566 N.W.2d at 875; Collentine, 525 N.W.2d at 829. Other factors which bear on the determination of industrial disability include age, education, experience, and inability, because of an injury, to engage in employment for which the employee is fitted. Collentine, 525 N.W.2d at 829. Additionally, compensation may be increased when an increase in industrial disability results from a failure of a diagnosed physical condition to improve to the extent anticipated. See Blacksmith, 290 N.W.2d at 350 (citing Meyers v. Holiday Inn of Cedar Falls, 272 N.W.2d 24, 26 (Iowa App.1978)). Thus, the decisive issue in a review-reopening case such as the present one is whether substantial evidence in the record supports the commissioner's conclusion that there was no change in Simonson's earning capacity due to a work-related injury since entry of the original award in 1991.