You have 90 days to tell your employer about the injury, and 2 years to file a workers' comp case in Iowa if no weekly benefits were paid.

The common wrong answer is: "Because you were in an Uber, it's just an auto insurance claim, not workers' comp." That is not automatically true.

In Iowa, workers' comp usually depends on whether you were acting in the course of your job, not whether the vehicle belonged to your employer. If you were a passenger in an Uber on a work trip - for example, heading between job sites, to a client visit, or to a required meeting in Cedar Rapids - your injury may be covered by Iowa workers' compensation even though another driver caused the wreck.

What happens next is usually this:

• You report the injury to your employer within 90 days
• The employer or insurer either accepts or denies the claim
• If accepted, they control medical care at first under Iowa law
• If denied, you can file with the Iowa Workers' Compensation Commissioner
• Separately, you may still have a third-party claim against the at-fault driver, the Uber policy, or even a road contractor if a construction-zone setup on roads like I-380 or Edgewood Road contributed

Your boss also cannot erase coverage by calling it "just transportation." If the trip mainly benefited the employer, that matters. A normal commute is different, but a work-directed ride often is not.

Another bad myth: "If workers' comp applies, you can't pursue the driver who hit you." Also wrong. Iowa workers' comp can cover medical care and wage benefits, while a third-party injury claim can seek broader damages. Iowa has no cap on personal injury damages in ordinary negligence and auto cases.

If the claim is accepted but they send you to their doctor, that is normal in Iowa. If the care is unreasonable, you can ask for alternate care through the state system.