Disability Law

Two Accidents = 208 Weeks of Temporary Disability Entitlement

By David A. McCranie, Esq.

Section 440.15(2)(a) limits temporary compensation benefits to a maximum of 104 weeks. So what if there are two on-the-job accidents which concurrently produce periods of temporary disability?  Is the claimant limited to a maximum of 104 weeks in compensation for both accidents?  No, said the First District Court of Appeal in Auman v. Leverock's Seafood House, decided on 12/16/2008.

The claimant injured her knee on 10/17/2004 and her right arm and elbow ten days later on 10/27/2004.  Accident #2 was found to be disabling, and accordingly the E/C paid temporary total disability benefits from 10/28/2004 through 10/27/2006, a total of 104 weeks.  But on 1/12/2005, the claimant had seen a doctor for her knee injury (accident #1) who opined that the claimant needed surgery and that she should not return to work until the surgery was performed.

In his December 2007 order, the JCC ordered the E/SA to authorize the surgery, but he awarded temporary total disability benefits for that condition only for the period from 10/26/2006 (the date benefits were exhausted for accident #2) through 1/11/2007 (the date marking the end of the 104-week period commencing on 1/12/2005) for a total of 11 weeks.  The JCC reasoned that because the claimant had already been compensated for accident #2 for the period from 1/12/2005 through 10/26/2006 (a period of 93 weeks), she had only 11 weeks (104 - 93) of entitlement to temporary compensation remaining.

The First DCA reversed, reasoning that §440.02(13) defines disability as "incapacity because of the injury" to earn wages.  Therefore, the claimant has a "bank" of 104 weeks of temporary disability benefits for her first accident.

Full post as published by Florida Workers’ Compensation Law Blog on December 17, 2008 (boomark / email).