Important Recent Case Law for Florida

Wednesday, February 19, 2014 | 0

NEW! Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services v. Anderson, 1D13-3429, (02/13/2014): A judge of compensation claims cannot reserve jurisdiction over benefit issues that were not identified in a petition for benefits, the Florida 1st District Court of Appeal ruled.

NEW! Hornfischer v. Manatee County Sheriff's Office, 2D13-374, (02/12/2014): The Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal revived an injured municipal employee's claims for retaliatory discharge, saying his case was not amenable to disposition by summary judgment. 

NEW! Pomerantz v. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and Usis, 1D13-2950, (02/07/2014): The statute of limitations for filing a workers' compensation claim began to run on the date that the claimant was furnished a prescription for medication by his authorized physician, not on the date that the prescription ran out, the Florida 1st District Court of Appeal ruled.

NEW! Andino-Rivera v. Southeast Atlantic Beverage Co., 1D13-0598, (01/024/2014): The Florida 1st District Court of Appeal overturned a judge's denial of temporary partial disability benefits and pain-management services to a worker with an admittedly compensable back injury and hernia.

NEW! Jose v. Goodwill Industries, 1D13-1707, (01/23/2014): A Florida worker was not entitled to benefits for his injuries from a fall after he fainted at work, the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled. 

NEW! Pena v. Design-Build Interamerican Inc., 3D12-2654, (01/22/2014): A civil suit filed by the wife of a worker who was left in a vegetative state after falling 20 feet on a construction site may proceed to determine whether the husband was an employee of a plumbing company that was a subcontractor on the project or of an affiliated plumbing supply company that is not protected by workers' compensation immunity, the Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled.

Young v. American Airlines, 1D13-1273, (12/31/2013): The 1st District Court of Appeal, for the second time, reversed a decision by a Judge of Compensation Claims to deny an injured airline worker's claim for permanent total disability benefits, finding the judge had failed to establish a valid reason for rejecting the worker's medical expert's opinion.

Smith v. Brevard Optometry Associates, 5D12-3923, (12/27/2013): The U.S. 5th District Court of Appeal revived a worker's discrimination claim asserting that she had been fired because her employer no longer wished to accommodate her disability.

Moya v. Trucks & Parts of Tampa, 1D13-1334, (12/20/2013): A worker who was determined to be at MMI for a shoulder injury was not entitled to an MRI of his shoulder based solely on the fact that his doctor recommended that he undergo the procedure, the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled.

Lopez v. All Star Investigations, 1D13-1108, (12/17/2013): A Florida appellate court is giving a worker a second chance to prove that his workplace fall last spring was compensable and not caused by a preexisting injury, as his employer alleged.