Two years is the lawsuit deadline the other side's adjuster is hoping you miss, because one answer controls everything: was someone outside your employer at fault?

Yes - sometimes. In Iowa, workers' comp is usually your only remedy against your employer and coworkers for an on-the-job injury. That is the exclusive remedy rule. If you're a nurse, teacher, or healthcare worker hurt while working in Iowa City, you generally cannot sue your employer for ordinary negligence and must use Iowa workers' comp.

But if a third party caused the crash, you can often run both claims at once:

• Workers' comp against your employer's carrier for medical care and wage benefits
• Personal injury claim or lawsuit against the outside person or company that caused the wreck

Common third parties include another driver, a delivery company, a road contractor, a vehicle manufacturer, or a property owner that created a hazard. If you were driving between worksites, making home-health visits, or transporting something for work when a driver hit you on a storm-soaked road, that is often a dual-track case.

If the crash was caused only by your employer's bad scheduling, poor training, or a coworker's mistake, expect the employer to raise the exclusive remedy defense and block a civil suit.

Do not miss the other key deadline either: in Iowa, you usually must notify your employer within 90 days of the work injury. A contested workers' comp claim also has its own filing limits, often 2 years from the injury or 3 years from the last weekly benefit payment.

If there is a third-party case, Iowa has no cap on personal injury damages in ordinary auto and negligence cases. But your workers' comp carrier may have a reimbursement lien under Iowa Code section 85.22 if you recover from that third party.