Earlier this month, the Florida Senate and House both unanimously passed Senate Bill 376, so as generally to allow workers’ compensation benefits for first responders who suffer PTSD as a...
Florida Legislature Approves PTSD Coverage for First Responders Florida Legislature Approves PTSD Coverage for First RespondersAn officer of a Florida corporation, who elected to be exempt from workers’ compensation coverage [see § 440.02(15)(b)(1), Fla. Stat. (2008)], and whose “employing” corporation was a subcontractor on a...
Exempt Florida Corporate Officer of Subcontractor Barred From Suing General Contractor Exempt Florida Corporate Officer of Subcontractor Barred From Suing General Contractor“White Coat” Syndrome Could Explain Isolated Reading As do a number of states, Florida provides a specialized presumption of compensability favoring certain law enforcement officers [see § 112.18(1), Fla. Stat.]....
Florida: Abnormal Pre-Employment BP Reading Does Not Mean Loss of Presumption of Compensability Florida: Abnormal Pre-Employment BP Reading Does Not Mean Loss of Presumption of CompensabilityA Florida appellate court held that misrepresentations regarding a claimant’s medical history can disqualify the claimant from receiving benefits even if there is no direct link between the allegedly false...
Florida MDs Have No Duty to “Cross-Examine” Workers’ Comp Claimant Regarding Known Misrepresentations Florida MDs Have No Duty to “Cross-Examine” Workers’ Comp Claimant Regarding Known MisrepresentationsA Florida appellate court ruled that a state judge of compensation claims erred when the JCC awarded benefits to a correctional officer under the state’s Heart-Lung statute, which generally provides...
Florida Correctional Department Successfully Rebuts Heart-Lung Presumption Florida Correctional Department Successfully Rebuts Heart-Lung PresumptionHigh Courts in Several States Strike Down Legislative Challenges to the Heart of the Workers’ Compensation System As we put together last year’s edition of the Workers’ Compensation Emerging Issues Analysis...
The Year of Equal Justice and Due Process The Year of Equal Justice and Due ProcessEarlier today (June 9, 2016), a divided Supreme Court of Florida rendered its long-awaited decision in Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg [No. SC13–1976], striking down as unconstitutional the state’s...
Florida High Court Strikes Down 104-Week Limitation on TTD Benefits Florida High Court Strikes Down 104-Week Limitation on TTD BenefitsIn a short—yet stinging—Order issued late yesterday [December 22, 2015], the Supreme Court of Florida declined to accept jurisdiction and accordingly denied a petition for review that had been filed...
Florida Supreme Court Delivers Coup de Gras to Padgett Florida Supreme Court Delivers Coup de Gras to PadgettEarlier today (June 24th), Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal reversed and completely repudiated the decision of Judge Jorge E. Cueto, Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, that had, on August 19,...
Florida Appellate Court Throws Out Judge Cueto’s “Padgett” Decision on Procedural Grounds Florida Appellate Court Throws Out Judge Cueto’s “Padgett” Decision on Procedural GroundsIn Kline v. JRD Management Corp., 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 8364 (1st DCA, June 2, 2015), a Florida appellate court recently held that a judge of compensation claims (“JCC”) erred...
Florida Court Says Judge Should Have Disqualified Himself For Bias Florida Court Says Judge Should Have Disqualified Himself For BiasA Florida appellate court recently reversed an order by a Judge of Compensation Claims requiring the employer/carrier to provide Claimant with treatment for a renal mass/cancer to the extent that...
Florida Court Reverses Award Requiring Employer to Pay for Kidney Removal Based on Hindrance of Treatment Doctrine Florida Court Reverses Award Requiring Employer to Pay for Kidney Removal Based on Hindrance of Treatment DoctrineIn a decision handed down last Thursday [Morales v. Zenith Ins. Co., 2014 Fla. LEXIS 3555 (Dec. 4, 2014)], the Supreme Court of Florida may well have tipped its hand...
Commentary: Florida Supreme Court Hints at How It May Decide Constitutionality of Florida Comp Act Commentary: Florida Supreme Court Hints at How It May Decide Constitutionality of Florida Comp Act