Opinion ID: 1241321
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Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Whether a Wrist Injury is Compensated as an Injury to the Hand or to the Arm.

Text: The scheduled injuries contained in the Code applicable to this appeal are as follows: l. For the loss of a hand, weekly compensation during one hundred ninety weeks. m. The loss of two-thirds of that part of an arm between the shoulder joint and the elbow joint shall equal the loss of an arm and the compensation therefor shall be weekly compensation during two hundred fifty weeks. Iowa Code § 85.34(2)( l ), ( m ). The Code is silent as to whether a wrist is part of the hand or the arm for purposes of a scheduled injury. Therefore, we must determine whether the Code compensates a wrist injury as an injury to the hand or an injury to the arm. This requires us to construe sections 85.34(2)( l ) and 85.34(2)( m ). We must determine whether the language of the statute is ambiguous before engaging in statutory construction. State v. Spencer, 737 N.W.2d 124, 129 (Iowa 2007). If reasonable persons could disagree on a statute's meaning, it is ambiguous. Id. `Ambiguity may arise in two ways: (1) from the meaning of particular words; or (2) from the general scope and meaning of a statute when all its provisions are examined.' Id. (quoting IBP, Inc. v. Harker, 633 N.W.2d 322, 325 (Iowa 2001)). Under the statutory scheme of section 85.34(2), reasonable persons could disagree as to whether the legislature considered a wrist injury as an injury to the hand or to the arm. We look to the intent of the legislature to resolve this ambiguity. See State v. Wiederien, 709 N.W.2d 538, 541 (Iowa 2006). In interpreting a statute, we look for an interpretation that is reasonable, best achieves the statute's purpose, and avoids absurd results. State v. Bower, 725 N.W.2d 435, 442 (Iowa 2006). The legislature enacted the workers' compensation statute primarily for the benefit of the worker and the worker's dependents. Cedar Rapids Cmty. Sch. v. Cady, 278 N.W.2d 298, 299 (Iowa 1979). Therefore, we apply the statute broadly and liberally in keeping with the humanitarian objective of the statute. Id. We will not defeat the statute's beneficent purpose by reading something into it that is not there, or by a narrow and strained construction. Id. The wrist is the joint located between the hand and the arm. The distal point of the wrist is the point between the wrist bones and the hand bones. The proximal point of the wrist is the point between the wrist bones and the arm bones. In the past when faced with analogous situations, this court has looked to the proximal point of the joint to classify an injury under the workers' compensation statutes. Lauhoff Grain Co. v. McIntosh, 395 N.W.2d 834, 839-40 (Iowa 1986) (holding an injury to the hip joint is compensated as an injury to the body as a whole); Second Injury Fund v. Nelson, 544 N.W.2d 258, 269-70 (Iowa 1995) (holding an injury to the shoulder joint is compensated as an injury to the body as a whole). One rationale for reaching this conclusion is that the workers' compensation statute is to be construed in favor of the worker. Lauhoff Grain Co., 395 N.W.2d at 839. By choosing the proximal point of a joint to classify an injury, the worker's impairment rating is applied to a higher number of maximum weeks of compensation than if we classify the injury using the distal point of the joint. To be consistent with our prior cases, we look at the proximal side of the wrist joint and hold an injury to the wrist is to be compensated as an injury to the arm. By construing an injury to the wrist as an injury to the arm, a worker's compensation is based on a 250-week maximum, rather than a 190-week maximum for an injury to the hand. Compare Iowa Code § 85.34(2)( m ), with id. § 85.34(2)( l ). This construction of the statute is consistent with our prior decisions finding the legislative intent behind the workers' compensation statute is to apply this law broadly and liberally in favor of a worker when an ambiguity exists. Accordingly, as a matter of law a wrist injury is compensated as an injury to the arm under section 85.34(2)( m ).