Florida Case Law Update

Tuesday, September 1, 2015 | 0

NEW! Vasquez v. Romero, 1D15-0623, (08/19/2015): The 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that a judge of compensation claims cannot exercise jurisdiction over discovery requests issued by a defendant after the claimant had voluntarily dismissed his petition for benefits.
 
NEW! Cruz v. State of Florida Department of Legal Affairs, 1D14-4419, (08/19/2015):  Florida 's 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that a judge's finding that a worker is entitled to further medical evaluations does not foreclose the judge from finding the worker to be at maximum medical improvement.

NEW! Ciprian-Escapa v. City of Orlando, 5D14-2852, (07/17/2015): A Florida appellate court ruled that a trial judge's failure to conduct an evidentiary hearing on an employer's subrogation claim rendered the default judgment void.

NEW! Gonzalez v. Quinco Electrical, 1D14-5395, (07/15/2015): Florida's 1st District Court of Appeal sharply rebuked a claimants' attorney for his "gamesmanship" tactic to prevent a carrier from timely responding to his client's request for a one-time change of physician and ruled that the trial judge properly deemed the carrier's response to have been timely in light of the attorney's behavior.

NEW! Sanchez v. American Airlines, 1D14-4907, (07/14/2015): An employer's payment of a fee award is neither a payment of compensation nor the furnishing of medical treatment, and so it will not extend the filing period for a worker to file a petition for benefits, the Florida 1st District Court of Appeal ruled.

NEW! Scherer v. Volusia County Department of Corrections, 1D14-2205, (07/08/2015): The Florida 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that a corrections officer could avail himself of the presumption of industrial causation for a heart condition with an alleged date of disablement that preceded the effective date of a statute that established a time limit for filing a workers' compensation claim.

State of Florida v. Florida Workers’ Advocates et al., 3D14-2062, (06/24/2015): The Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal dismissed a district court judge's ruling that the state workers' compensation system is unconstitutional, for procedural reasons, failing to address the core arguments of the case.

School Board of Lee County and Johns Eastern Company, Inc. v. Leila Huben, 1D14-4476, (06/22/2015): Florida workers face an absolute deadline on psyche claims six months after they reach maximum medical improvement for a physical injury, the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled

Leggett v. Barnett Marine, 1D14-4432, (06/04/2015): The Florida 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that an injured worker's act of fraud required that all the contested and unresolved claims he had filed be resolved against him, so he had no entitlement to benefits up until the date of his misrepresentation.

Carlson v. FedEx Ground Package Systems, 13-14979, (05/28/2015): The 11th U.S.Circuit Court of Appeals said a jury must decide whether a group of Florida FedEx drivers were independent contractors or employees, since it couldn't make a determination as a matter of law.

Moradiellos v. Community Asphalt Corp., 3D14-794, (06/03/2015): A worker's estate could not seek a civil remedy against his former employer, as a matter of law, for his death from a dump truck accident on a road construction project, the 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled.

Kline v. JRD Management Corp., 1D15-0562, (06/02/2015): The Florida 1st District Court of Appeal granted an injured worker's request for an order directing the judge of compensation claims from presiding over her case.

Booker v. Sumter County Sheriff's Office, 1D14-4812, (05/29/2015): The Florida 1st District Court of Appeal upheld a judge's rulings accepting medical opinions into evidence and used the decision as a chance to explain how the "Daubert test" for the admissibility of expert scientific testimony is supposed to work.