Ronald William Brinck
v.
Siouxland Mental Health Center and The Cincinnati Insurance Company
Appellant
Ronald William Brinck
Appellee
Siouxland Mental Health Center and The Cincinnati Insurance Company
Attorney for the Appellant
Mark S. Soldat
Attorney for the Appellee
Kathleen Roe
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Eliza J. Ovrom, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Mullins, JJ. Opinion by Doyle, J. (14 pages)
Ronald Brinck appeals the dismissal of his petition for judicial review affirming the Workers’ Compensation Commissioner’s denial of his petition to review-reopen a prior action. OPINION HOLDS: Substantial evidence by way of an expert’s reasonable opinion supports the agency’s determination that Brinck failed to establish his psychosis was proximately caused by his 2009 injury. Moreover, the district court did not err in affirming the agency’s conclusion that, even if Brinck could establish causation, his claim is barred by res judicata because he could have litigated the issue at the time of his settlement but did not. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s ruling denying Brinck’s petition for judicial review.
