Thomas M. Wertz

Attorney At Law

Some lawyers dabble in many areas or practice. For Tom Wertz, that isn’t the case. Shortly after moving into private practice, his focus quickly turned to workers’ compensation after recognizing the need for experienced attorneys in this specialized field. His commitment has resulted in a legal practice representing injured workers for over 25 years.

Tom’s record with the Iowa Supreme Court has led to major legal changes on behalf of injured workers, helping to reshape the workers’ compensation laws to the benefit of injured workers. These changes include:

• Compensation for the conditions of tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and acute psychological injuries. Employers and insurance carriers previously denied these types of claims.
• Out-of-state injured workers can now receive medical treatment at home, rather than being dragged back to Iowa for medical treatment
• Insurance companies are now required to reevaluate decisions to deny benefits, when new information was received.
• Compensation for a new injury where a prior injury was being used to decrease benefits owed to the injured worker.

Education

• College: University of Iowa
• Law School: University of Tulsa

Bar Admissions

• Admitted, 1978

Professional Associations & Memberships

• Iowa Association for Justice (Past President)
• Workers' Compensation Section of the Iowa Association of Justice
• Served as Chair for 10 years
• Currently on the Governing Council
• Linn County Bar Association
• Iowa Bar Association

Honors & Awards

• Recognized as "Comp Man" by the Iowa Association of Justice
• Inducted into the first class of the Cedar Rapids Rubgy Club's Hall of Fame
• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® - Workers' Compensation Law