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Disability Law

Florida Workers’ Compensation Law Blog

News, legislative developments, and court decisions arising under the Florida Workers' Compensation Act.
By David A. McCranie, Esq.

Post Frequency: 1.1/day

Last Entry: August 24, 2009 at 08:40:29

Another WC Bill Filed in Florida House

Posted on March 04, 2009

Sen. Gelber "Tweets" the Session

Posted on March 03, 2009

More Press Coverage on Murray Bills

Posted on March 02, 2009

A More Employee-Friendly Attorney's Fee Bill Introduced in Florida Senate

Posted on February 27, 2009

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McDonald's Insurer Isn't Lovin' It

Posted on February 26, 2009
You might have seen this recent report about the McDonald's employee in Arkansas who came to the rescue of a customer as she was being assaulted in the dining area of the restaurant. The assailant shot this Good Samaritan for his efforts, resulting in medical treatment costing over $300,000...

Another Murray Bill Filed; House Speaker Signals His Approval

Posted on February 25, 2009
Sen. Garrett S. Richter (R-Naples) has filed SB 2072, another bill which would overturn the result of the Florida Supreme Court's decision in Murray v. Mariner Health. The bill is similar though not identical to HB 903, a bill which I discussed here...

Senate Bill Would Require Public Employers to Comply with OSHA

Posted on February 25, 2009
Senator Evelyn Lynn (R-Daytona Beach) has introduced SB 1878 in the Florida Senate. This bill would: Require "public employers" - the state, county and municipal governments, and school districts - to comply with OSHA general industry and construction standards by June 30, 2012...

Another Bill to Limit Attorney's Fees Filed in House

Posted on February 18, 2009
In another attempt to reverse the supreme court's ruling in Murray v. Mariner Health, Representative Anitere Flores (R-Miami) has filed HB 903 in the Florida House of Representatives. This bill would: Leave intact the circumstances under which an employer/carrier would be responsible for paying the fees of a successful claimant's attorney under §440...

Still More Benefits Proposed for First Responders: Expanded Rights to Disability Benefits

Posted on February 09, 2009
In order to claim "in-line-of-duty" disability benefits from the Florida Retirement System, participants must prove that they cannot render "useful and efficient service as an officer or employee" because of their injuries...

Proposed Legislation Would Expand Death Benefits for Firefighters

Posted on February 07, 2009
HB 259 and its identical Senate counterpart, SB 792, would expand the circumstances under which the survivors of Florida firefighters who are killed in the line of duty could collect certain death benefits. Specifically, these bills would amend §112...

Fifth DCA: Evidence Was Sufficient to Go to the Jury in Retaliatory Discharge Claim

Posted on February 06, 2009
Pamela Andrews was injured on the job and was later fired. Believing that her employer, Direct Mail Express, had fired her in retaliation for pursuing her workers' compensation claim, she filed suit against them under §440...

Discussions Underway for Murray "Fix"

Posted on February 05, 2009
The News Service of Florida reports that discussions are underway about a legislative response to Murray v. Mariner Health. According to the report, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee took testimony Tuesday from NCCI, a judge of compensation claims, and an actuary at the Office of Insurance Regulation, but didn't take any testimony from any attorneys, insurers, or employers...

HB 311 Withdrawn

Posted on February 04, 2009
HB 311 was withdrawn by its sponsor on 2/3/2004. The bill, which I wrote about here, would have repealed the statutory authority for judges of compensation claims to award carrier-paid attorney's fees to successful claimant's attorneys...

DOAH: Claimant Not Entitled to "Rehab TTD"

Posted on February 01, 2009
When an injured worker is unable to obtain "suitable gainful employment" because of injuries sustained on the job, the Department of Education, Div. of Vocational Rehabilitation, offers "training and education" to the worker to assist him in doing so...

First DCA: Raising Compensability Defense for the First Time at Hearing Deprives Claimant of Due Process

Posted on January 31, 2009
A injured worker's right to receive workers' compensation benefits on account of a compensable accident is a property right which is entitled to procedural due process protection before it can be taken away. That protection includes the right to fair notice and an opportunity to be heard...

Third DCA: Questions of Fact Remain in Employee's Tort Suit Against Employer

Posted on January 31, 2009
The courts are still dealing with the aftermath of the Florida Supreme Court's 2007 decision in Bakerman v. The Bombay Co. The court concluded in that case that under the pre-2003 version of §440.11, the plaintiff/employee need not prove that the employer deliberately concealed a dangerous condition from the employee in order to prove that the employer's conduct was "substantially certain" to result in injury or death...

Fourth DCA: No Coverage for Workplace Injuries Under General Liability Policy

Posted on January 31, 2009
Does an employer's general liability insurance policy provide coverage for on-the-job injuries sustained by its employees? Not when the policy specifically excludes coverage for "any obligation of the insured under a workers' compensation. ...

Fourth DCA: Circuit Courts Have No Authority to Modify Orders of the JCC Because of a Change in Circumstances

Posted on January 31, 2009
In what the court described as a "battle. . . between common sense and . . . procedural limitations," the Fourth DCA affirmed the trial court's grant of the claimant's petition for rule nisi in City of Hollywood v. Benoit, decided on 1/21/2009...

Workers Face Uphill Battle in Occupational Disease Cases

Posted on January 31, 2009
The 1/24/2009 edition of the New York Times carried this story about Ed Abney, a 53-year-old former tool and die worker who contracted Parkinson's disease after years of workplace exposure to trichlorethylene, a solvent formerly in widespread use in the United States...

Claimant's Paralegal Fees Not Recoverable as "Costs"

Posted on January 31, 2009
When an injured worker who is represented by counsel settles his workers' compensation claim for a lump sum, the JCC must review the attorney's fees charged to the claimant to ensure that they comply with the limited percentages for fees set forth in §440...

Insurance Commissioner Approves 6.4% Rate Increase to Account for Murray

Posted on January 27, 2009
The Office of Insurance Regulation announced on 1/26/2009 that it will approve a request for rate increase by NCCI and will increase by an average of 6.4% the rates Florida employers are charged for workers' compensation insurance. Effective 4/1/2009, the increase was attributed to last year's Florida Supreme Court decision in Murray v...

Congress May Investigate Fairness of State Workers' Compensation Laws

Posted on January 24, 2009
Representative Joe Baca (D-CA) has introduced H.R. 635, the "National Commission on State Workers' Compensation Laws Act of 2009." Filed in the U.S. House of Representatives on 1/22/2009, the bill proposes to establish a commission to "study and evaluate State workers' compensation laws in order to determine if such laws provide an adequate, prompt, and equitable system of compensation for injury or death arising out of or in the course of employment...

House Bill Would Repeal Carrier-Paid Claimant's Attorney's Fees

Posted on January 15, 2009
In an apparent attempt to undo last October's Florida Supreme Court decision in Murray v. Mariner Health, Representative Priscilla Taylor (D. West Palm Beach) filed HB 311 in the Florida House of Representatives on 1/13/2009...

Medicare Sues Plaintiff's Attorney for Unreimbursed Medical Expenses

Posted on January 11, 2009
Consider these facts: Medicare beneficiary is injured in a fall from a ladder. Medicare expends $22,549.67 in payment of beneficiary's resulting medical bills. Beneficiary hires an attorney who files suit against the ladder retailer...

Boca Raton Firefighters Allege Illness Caused by Uniforms

Posted on January 11, 2009
Firefighters in the city of Boca Raton are alleging that their fire-resistant uniform pants are making them sick. According to this story from the 1/10/2009 edition of the Palm Beach Post, over 50 of the firefighters are showing symptoms consistent with heavy metal poisoning allegedly linked to the flame-retardant chemical in the pants.

First DCA to Consider "Heart-Lung" Presumption En Banc

Posted on January 08, 2009
I wrote here about the seemingly conflicting opinions from the First District Court of Appeal on what kind of proof a governmental employer must present in order to rebut the statutory presumption that a firefighter's or law enforcement officer's heart disease was caused by his employment...

Second DCA: Employee Not Estopped From Pursuing Tort Action Against Putative Employer

Posted on January 05, 2009
Zeeuw v. BFI Waste Systems of North America, Inc., decided by the Second District Court of Appeal on 12/31/2008, illustrates how litigation can arise when the documentation in an employee leasing situation is unclear. Zeeuw had previously worked for BFI as a leased employee of Spartan Staffing, but it was unclear on the date of his accident whether he remained a leased employee or whether he worked directly for BFI...

Fifth DCA: No Pre-Suit Notice Required for Employee's Retaliation Claim Against Public Employer

Posted on January 02, 2009
Section 440.205, Fla. Stat., prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee "by reason of such employee's valid claim for compensation or attempt to claim compensation under the Workers' Compensation Law," and the Florida Supreme Court has held that an employer's violation of this statute creates a private cause of action against the employer and in favor of the aggrieved employee...

First DCA: 6-Month Limitation on Temporary Compensation for Mental or Nervous Injuries Does Not Apply Where Claimant Is Not Receiving Permanent Impairment Benefits

Posted on December 31, 2008
One of the many changes wrought to the Florida Workers' Compensation Law in 2003 was the enactment of §440.093(3), Fla. Stat., which provides: (3) Subject to the payment of permanent benefits under s.440.15, in no event shall temporary benefits for a compensable mental or nervous injury be paid for more than 6 months after the date of maximum medical improvement for the injured employee's physical injury or injuries...

Two Accidents = 208 Weeks of Temporary Disability Entitlement

Posted on December 17, 2008
pa href="http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statuteamp;Search_String=amp;URL=Ch0440/SEC15.HTMamp;Title=-gt;2008-gt;Ch0440-gt;Section%2015#0440.15"Section 440.15(2)(a)/a limits temporary compensation benefits to a maximum of 104 weeks...

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