Important Recent Case Law for Florida

Monday, November 4, 2013 | 0

NEW! Pasco County Sheriff's Office v. Shaffer, 1D12-5419, (10/23/2013): A corrections officer who was able to continue working and collecting her normal wages despite an injury that kept her from performing a major component of her job still qualified as "disabled," the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled.

NEW! Banuchi v. Department of Corrections, 1D12-3810, (10/16/2013): The Florida 1st District Court of Appeal clarified a trial judge's obligation to appoint an expert medical adviser and to defer to the adviser's opinion. 

NEW! Brandywine Convalescent Care v. Ragoobir, 1D13-0982, (10/16/2013): The Florida 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that an expert medical adviser is entitled to the presumption of correctness unless there is clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.

NEW! Banks v. Allegiant Security, 1D13-1418, (10/11/2013): The 1st District Court of Appeal overturned a denial of a worker's claim for benefits after she proceeded as her own attorney at the final hearing on her claim because the judge had applied an incorrect analysis as to whether she could get a continuance to hire counsel.

Anheuser-Busch Companies v. Staples, 1D13-1038, (10/09/2013): A divided Florida appellate court ruled that a single law firm could not represent an employer's workers' compensation lien interest in a premises liability action by an injured employee while also representing the defendant in the premises liability action. 

K-C Electric Co. v. Walden, 1D13-1145, (10/07/2013): The 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that the 1994 legislative amendments to Florida's workers' compensation laws did not change the statutory definition of "wages" so as to exclude a corporate shareholder's pro rata portion of the corporation's profits.

Martin v. Code Enforcement, City of Jacksonville, 1D13-1344, (09/23/2013): A Florida appellate court overturned a judge's denial of a claimant's request for costs associated with a medical conference between her attorney and her doctor.

Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg, No. 1D12-3563, (09/23/2013): A fractured Florida 1st District Court of Appeal backed away from an earlier panel decision that held that the statutory 104-week limit on temporary disability benefits was unconstitutional for a worker who had not reached maximum medical improvement.

Carroso v. State of Florida, 2D11-1282, (09/18/2013): The 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that an injured worker who was convicted of insurance fraud was entitled to a new trial because the trial judge had erred in determining what the "monetary value" of his alleged fraud had been. 

Amcon Builders v. Pardo, 3D13-1169, (09/04/2013): The Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to review a trial judge's denial of an employer's motion for summary judgment based on the defense of workers' compensation exclusivity since the judge did not rule that this defense was unavailable to the employer. 

Collins v. Mosaic Fertilizer and Gallagher Bassett Services, 1D12-4830, (08/22/2013): The 1st DCA found that Judge Margaret E. Sojourner erred by disregarding the opinion of an expert medical adviser and denying an injured worker's claim that he had developed subdural hematomas one year after suffering a compensable fall.