Iowa Personal Injury Laws: Deadlines to Sue, Fault Rules and Damage Caps

A lawsuit founded on injuries to the person (or reputation), whether based on contract or tort, must be filed within two years after the claim accrues.

A lawsuit for injuries to property must be filed within five years after the claim accrues.

A claim for injury or death against a licensed physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, chiropractor or other listed provider, or a licensed hospital, arising out of patient care must be filed within two years after the claimant knew or reasonably should have known of (or received written notice of) the injury or death, and never more than six years after the act or omission, unless a foreign object was unintentionally left in the body. For a child injured before age 8, the claim may be filed by the child's 10th birthday if that is later.

Wrongful death damages are treated as personal property of the deceased person's estate. Damages for loss of services and support are divided by the court among the surviving spouse, children and parents as is fair; a parent's recovery for a child's death comes after any recovery by the deceased's spouse or child. If there is a surviving spouse, child or parent, the damages are not subject to the estate's debts (except certain Medicaid repayments).

Modified comparative fault (51% bar). An injured person's own fault does not bar recovery unless it is greater than the combined fault of the defendants, third-party defendants and released persons; damages are reduced by the injured person's percentage of fault.

Yes. Non-economic damages against health care providers for one occurrence are capped at $250,000 total, regardless of the number of plaintiffs or defendants. If the jury finds substantial or permanent loss or impairment of a bodily function, substantial disfigurement, loss of pregnancy, or death, and that the $250,000 limit would deny just compensation, the cap is $1,000,000, or $2,000,000 if a hospital is a defendant. The caps do not apply to a defendant who acted with actual malice, and they increase by 2.1% each January 1 starting in 2028. Loss of dependent care for a child or disabled adult is treated as economic damages.

Punitive damages require a finding, by a preponderance of clear, convincing and satisfactory evidence, that the defendant's conduct showed willful and wanton disregard for the rights or safety of another. If the conduct was not directed specifically at the claimant, the claimant may receive no more than 25% of the punitive award (after costs and fees), with the rest paid into a state civil reparations trust fund; the full amount goes to the claimant if the conduct was directed at the claimant, or in patient-care claims against licensed health providers and hospitals, or commercial motor vehicle cases.

State: a tort claim against the State must be made in writing and filed with the director of the department of management within two years after it accrues; the time to sue is extended six months after the Attorney General's notice of final disposition in some cases. Cities, counties and other local governments: a lawsuit must be filed within two years after the wrongful death, loss or injury.

Strict liability. A dog owner is liable for all damages done by the dog when it is attacking or attempting to bite a person (or worrying, maiming or killing a domestic animal), unless the injured party was doing an unlawful act that directly contributed to the injury.

Drivers must have financial liability coverage in effect. The minimum amounts are $20,000 for injury or death of one person, $40,000 for injury or death of two or more people in one accident, and $15,000 for property damage (20/40/15).

A driver in a crash that causes injury or death must immediately notify, by the quickest means available, the county sheriff, the nearest Iowa State Patrol office, or another peace officer as near the scene as practical.

A driver in a crash causing injury, death, or apparent total property damage of $1,500 or more must send a written report to the Iowa Department of Transportation within 72 hours after the crash. No driver report is required if a law enforcement agency investigated the crash; in that case the officer sends a report to the department within 24 hours after completing the investigation.

A driver who knows or has reason to believe their vehicle was in a crash causing injury or death must stop and stay at the scene, give name, address and registration number, show a license on request, and give reasonable help to anyone injured, including arranging transport for medical treatment. A driver who later learns their vehicle may have been involved must make a good-faith effort to call 911 as soon as reasonably possible. In a damage-only crash with an attended vehicle, the driver must move an operable vehicle off the traveled roadway when safe, then stop and exchange information. For an unattended vehicle, the driver must find the owner or leave a written note. Leaving an injury crash is a serious misdemeanor; a serious-injury crash, an aggravated misdemeanor (class D felony if the driver caused it); a fatal crash, a class D felony (class C felony if the driver caused it). The license is revoked on conviction. Leaving a damage-only crash or an unattended vehicle is a simple misdemeanor.

Iowa no longer divides lawful visitors into invitees and licensees. In Koenig v. Koenig (2009) the Iowa Supreme Court abandoned that distinction and held that owners and occupiers owe lawful visitors a duty to exercise reasonable care in maintaining their premises, judged by factors such as the foreseeability of harm, the purpose of the visit, the time, manner and circumstances of entry, the use of the premises, the reasonableness of inspection, repair or warning, and the burden of providing protection. The court expressly did not decide whether the separate common-law rules for trespassers still apply.

For public sidewalks, the owner of the property next to the sidewalk (the abutting owner) is responsible for removing natural accumulations of snow and ice within a reasonable time and may be liable for damages caused by failing to use reasonable care in removing it; the injured person must prove actual damages, and all legal and equitable defenses are available to the owner. A city's general duty to keep sidewalks in repair does not include removing natural accumulations of snow or ice, except where the city itself is the abutting owner.

Cities must keep public grounds, streets, sidewalks, alleys and bridges open, in repair and free from nuisance. However, abutting property owners are responsible for removing natural accumulations of snow and ice from sidewalks (and may be liable for failing to do so with reasonable care), may be required by ordinance to maintain property between the lot line and the curb, and can be ordered by the city by certified mail to repair, replace or reconstruct sidewalks, with the city able to do the work and assess the cost against the property. No prior-written-notice requirement appears in this section.

Under Iowa's municipal tort claims law, a person claiming damages from a city, county or other municipality, or its officer, employee or agent, for a wrongful death, loss or injury must start a lawsuit within two years after the death, loss or injury (subject to the extension rules of § 614.8). The section read does not require a separate written notice of claim before suing and does not set a damage cap.

A holder of land owes no duty to keep the premises safe for people entering for recreation (or urban deer control) and no duty to warn of dangerous conditions, uses, structures or activities, and owes no duty merely because the holder guides, supervises or takes part in the recreation. The protection does not apply to a willful or malicious failure to guard or warn against a dangerous condition, use, structure or activity, or where the holder charges people to enter for recreation or deer hunting (payments under a lease or agreement with the United States, the State or a subdivision do not count as a charge).

Iowa has no state law that requires motorcycle riders to wear a helmet.

Lane splitting is illegal in Iowa: a motorcycle or motorized bicycle may not be operated between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows of vehicles, and may not pass in the same lane occupied by the vehicle being passed unless that vehicle is also a motorcycle or motorized bicycle. Motorcycles may ride no more than two abreast in a single lane, and other drivers may not deprive a motorcyclist of the full use of a lane.

Where traffic signals are not in place or not working, drivers must yield, slowing or stopping if needed, to a pedestrian or bicycle rider crossing within any marked crosswalk or unmarked crosswalk at an intersection; a violation is a simple misdemeanor. A pedestrian crossing anywhere other than a marked or unmarked crosswalk must yield to all vehicles (cities may restrict such crossings by ordinance), and where signals operate at a place that is not an intersection, pedestrians may cross only in a marked crosswalk. Every driver must still exercise due care to avoid hitting a pedestrian and use due care around children and confused or incapacitated people; pedestrians walking along a highway must walk on the left side.

A person riding a bicycle on the highway has all the rights and duties of a vehicle driver under Iowa's motor vehicle chapter, except provisions that by their nature cannot apply. Drivers must yield to bicycle riders crossing within a crosswalk where signals are not operating, the same as for pedestrians. Iowa's motor vehicle chapter contains no bicycle helmet requirement.

Transportation network company (Uber/Lyft type) drivers, or the company on their behalf, must keep primary auto insurance that recognizes TNC driving. While logged on and available but not on a prearranged ride: at least $50,000 for bodily injury or death of one person, $100,000 for two or more persons, and $25,000 for property damage per accident. While engaged in a prearranged ride: at least $1 million for bodily injury, death and property damage per accident. The coverage may come from the driver, the company or both, it is in addition to other required auto coverage, and if the driver's insurance lapses or falls short the company's insurance must cover from the first dollar and defend the claim.

Commercial vehicles in Iowa must comply with rules adopted by the Department of Public Safety (with the Department of Transportation) that must be consistent with the federal motor carrier safety regulations in 49 C.F.R. parts 385 and 390-399. The state rules on driver qualifications, hours of service and recordkeeping do not apply to public utility trucks, gravel trucks, construction trucks and equipment, trucks moving implements of husbandry, and special trucks (other than truck tractors) operating intrastate, except as otherwise provided. An Iowa minimum insurance amount for intrastate trucks was not verified; interstate carriers must meet federal minimums (49 C.F.R. 387.9).

Iowa's workers' comp law makes comp the exclusive remedy of an injured worker against the employer, and against a co-employee unless the co-employee's gross negligence amounted to wanton neglect for the worker's safety. A worker injured under circumstances creating legal liability in some other person (a third party, such as a negligent contractor or equipment maker) may collect comp and also sue that third party for damages.