Florida Case Law Update

Thursday, November 20, 2014 | 0

NEW! Lane v. Workforce Business Services, 1D14-959, (11/12/14): The Florida 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that sanctions allowed in civil courts for the deliberate maintenance of a baseless claim or defense have no place in the workers' comp system.

NEW! Celebrity Cruises v. Fernandes, 3D14-85, (11/14): A Florida appellate court revived a maritime employer's defense to an injured seaman's claims of negligence, saying its delayed production of discovery did not merit entry of a default judgment against it on the issue of liability.

NEW! Hancock v. Suwannee County School Board, 1D14-0954, (10/31/2014): A Florida appellate court said that a judge of compensation claims had jurisdiction to decide whether a doctor's demand of an additional $1,500 fee for allowing a videographer to accompany a claimant to her independent medical examination was reasonable and appropriate.

NEW! Anderson v. North Port Services of Florida, 1D14-2255, (10/29/2014): The 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that an injured worker, acting as her own attorney on the appeal, had failed to establish any basis for releasing her from the terms to which she had agreed for the settlement of her workers' compensation claim.

NEW! Baker v. Airguide Manufacturing, 3D13-2878, (10/29/2014): A Florida appellate court ruled that a temporary staffing company's employee could not pursue her civil suit against the staffing company's client as a matter of law.

NEW! Taylor v. CVS, 1D14-2631, (10/27/2014): A Florida appellate court ruled that an injured worker couldn't back out of a settlement agreement she had reached with her employer, but she couldn't be forced to comply with additional requirements that the judge of compensation claims had inserted into the terms of the agreement.

Panzer Law v. Palm Beach County School District, 1D14-0908, (10/13/2014): The failure of an employer and its insurance carrier to seek dismissal of a petition for benefits on the basis that it had not been accompanied by a written statement from the worker's authorized treating doctor waived its ability to raise this deficiency to contest the worker's entitlement to a fee award for the successful prosecution of the petition.

Fortune v. Gulf Coast Tree Care, 1D13-5580, (10/13/2014): An employer that undisputedly knew that its employee had been injured on the job was liable for his medical treatment costs, even though the worker had never formally asked his employer to pay for his care, a Florida appellate court ruled.

Mad Dog Marketing Group v. Department of Financial Services, 1D14-1091, (10/13/2014): A Florida appellate court overturned a $2,000 penalty against an uninsured employer for continuing to operate in violation of the stop-work order.

Bonner v. Miami Dade Public Schools, 1D14-1200, (10/07/2014): A Florida appellate court ruled that an injured worker does not need to "live a pauper's life" in order to establish her eligibility for an advance of compensation if she has suffered a substantial loss of earning capacity due to her injury.