FL 1st: Failure to Investigate Waives Rights

The First District of the Florida Court of Appeals ruled that an employer cannot deny compensability of injury after 120 days if the employer had an opportunity to obtain all relevant information within that time period. In Boyett v. Wal-Mart, No. 1D04-2997, 07/21/2005, Roger Boyett, an overnight stockman for Wal-Mart, collapsed to the floor in apparent pain while moving large toolboxes. Boyett had a history of heart ailments and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) unrelated to his employment. At the time of the incident, Boyett told his co-worker that it was not the lifting of the...