Luks Santaniello's Florida Workers Compensation blog

This August 8 1DCA opinion reverses Judge Lazzara's ruling. The case revolves around a claimant who was requested by her employer to drop off a package for shipping. As she was returning to her desk, the claimant turned a corner in the hallway and "felt her right foot slip from under her' and fell. As a result of the fall, the claimant sustained a left shoulder rotator cuff tear.  The claimant had no prior history of problems with her left shoulder. There was no evidence that the fall was caused by a medical condition. The JCC found that the claimant had no pre-existing conditions that could have caused the fall. However, the JCC still held that the 'claimant's accidental injury on the employer's premises did not arise out of her employment because her work activity at the time of the incident was not the major contributing cause of her fall or injury."   The 1DCA held that in the absence of competing causes of the claimant's accident/injuries t

This August 31, 2012 1DCA opinion reversed Judge Winn's JCC decision. In this case, the timeline is important. In short, the timeline was:   A PFB for PTD benefits was filed on January 25, 2011. The carrier received the PFB on January 28, 2011. On February 16, 2011, the carrier accepted the claimant as PTD (18 days after receipt of the PFB). The very next day the carrier issued a $2,000 advance that had previously been requested by the claimant. Finally on March 10, the carrier issued a check paying the claimant PTD benefits minus the $2,000 cash advance.(the first installment of PTD benefits was made 41 days after the PFB was received by the carrier.) Claimant's counsel filed for attorney fees asserting as grounds that the carrier initially denied the claim but ultimately accepted the claim. The JCC denied fees concluding that the advance paid was a discharge of liability from the date thereof until such advance is recouped by offset against subsequent benefits

This August 10, 2012 opinion reverses Judge Rosen's ruling. The 1DCA held that the JCC erred in making findings on matters outside of the issues framed for the hearing. The JCC had denied a claim for PTD benefits basd on the grounds that the claimant had not proven the existance of a back injury due to rpetitive trauma with a date of accident of January 26, 2004. The PFB filed by the claimant never raised the issue of compensability. In this case, the claimant had a prior accident while working for the same employer. That case never resolved. On March 10, 2004, the claimant resigned from the employer. However, it was not until 2010 that the claimant filed a PFB for PTD benefits using March 10, 2004 as the start date for the PTD benefits. The PFB mentioned a repitive trauma accident. He used January 26, 2004 as the date of accident. The PFB assumed that the accident was accepted as compensable. The JCC ruled that the claimant did not establish a repetitve trauma to his back.