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Iowa injury rights, deadlines, and help

If you were hurt in Iowa, you probably have one big question: how long do I have to act, and what should I do first? This page answers that in plain words, with links to the official laws so you can check every number yourself.

The deadlines that matter in Iowa

Medical claims can have different, often shorter deadlines. Minors and some other people may get extra time. Laws change, so treat these as starting points, not legal advice for your exact case.

What to do first

  1. Get medical care now. Your health comes first, and the medical record it creates also protects your claim.
  2. Report the injury in writing. Work injury: tell your employer in writing today, even though the law allows 90 days. Crash: call the police and get the report number. Fall or dog bite: tell the property owner or dog owner and keep proof you did.
  3. Save everything. Photos of the scene and your injuries, names of witnesses, receipts, and every letter or text about the incident.
  4. Write down the date you connected the injury to its cause. For slow injuries, like a back that got worse over months of lifting, the clocks often start when you knew or should have known the injury was work related. Your own notes can prove that date later.
  5. Do not sign anything from an insurance company yet. A release signed early can end your claim forever, even for injuries no one has found yet.
Not sure which deadline applies to you? Tell us what happened at /start/. It is free, and we will help you sort it out.

Common situations in Iowa

Hurt at work

Iowa workers' compensation (the no-fault system that pays for work injuries) gives you 90 days to report, counted from when you knew the injury was work related. That sounds generous. In practice, people who wait are the ones who lose. Employers and insurers question late reports, memories fade, and the injury gets blamed on something at home. The story below shows how hard a strict reporting rule can bite.

Hurt on the road

Car, motorcycle, bike, and pedestrian injuries generally fall under the 2-year lawsuit deadline. Iowa uses a modified comparative fault rule: if you were partly at fault, your recovery is reduced by your share, and if your share passes 50 percent, you recover nothing. Iowa Code 668.3. Official text This is why insurers argue hard about fault percentages.

Hurt on someone's property, or by a dog

Slip and fall cases follow the same 2-year clock, including falls on city or state property. For dog attacks, Iowa law is on your side: the owner is liable for all damages when a dog attacks or attempts to bite a person. The main exceptions are when the victim was doing something unlawful that directly contributed to the injury, or when a rabid dog bit without the owner having reason to know. Iowa Code 351.28. Official text

A story worth knowing

In November 2013, Rebecca Amador, a Texas nursing-home worker, hurt her back while moving a patient. Her employer had opted out of the state workers' comp system and ran its own injury plan, which required workers to report injuries by the end of their shift. She reported 19 hours after it happened. Under regular workers' comp she would have had 30 days. Under the company plan, she was already too late. Her claim was rejected, and she could not get the injury covered by health or disability insurance either, because it was work related. She ended up at a public health clinic, unable to afford a specialist, living on her son's Social Security while applying for disability. Inside Corporate America's Campaign To Ditch Workers' Comp, ProPublica

Iowa's rules are different from that company plan, and its 90-day window is far kinder. But the lesson travels: report every work injury in writing the same day it happens, even if it seems minor. The system is unforgiving to people who wait, and that is exactly why having an advocate helps.

What we can help with

We are not a law firm and we do not charge injured people anything. We are your advocate. Here is what that looks like:

Our help is always free to you. We never take money from injured people.

Tell us what happened

If you or someone you love was hurt in Iowa, you do not have to figure this out alone. Share your story at /start/ and we will point you in the right direction. No pressure, no cost.

Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-08-16

This is general information, not legal advice. Deadlines can change or vary with the facts. A licensed attorney can confirm the rule for your situation.