Blog
Morgan’s Tip of the Week – Light Duty Offers
Greetings, Temporary partial is one of the most commonly litigated benefits we see. Our best defense is a solid light duty job offer where the claimant is making 80% of the AWW. If the claimant refuses a light duty position, we can deny TPD as there is a voluntary limitation of income. In a perfect […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week – Advances
Greetings, I am seeing more and more claimants ask for advances on a PFB. However, even though its on a PFB, the JCC’s have ruled an advance is NOT a benefit, it’s a loan against future benefits. Therefore, even if you agree to provide it after 30 days after the PFB, you do not owe […]
Briefly Speaking – Case Law Summaries (1/30/19)
James, Christopher Kyle vs. Elite Signs & Graphics, O Town Graphix, LLC JCC Anderson: Daytona Beach District Order Date: 1/7/2019 OJCC Case: 18-015445WWA Date of Accident: 5/15/2018 Claimant’s Counsel: Michael MacDonald E/C’s Counsel: Shari Hall JCC Order: Click Here Briefly: Compensability (course and scope) Summary: Claimant worked for the insured as […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week – Intoxication Defense, Preserving Samples
Greetings, I am working through a case now regarding the Intoxication defense, and thought it would make a good tip. More specifically, what to do if a claimant is taken to the hospital after the accident, and there is suspicion of drugs or alcohol. If the claimant is sent to the walk-in clinic, normally a […]
CHANGE IS COMING! … To The Florida Rules Of Civil Procedure. Is Florida Workers’ Compensation Next?
Sean Jordan, Associate, Orlando, & Wes Heim, Associate, Tampa Do you struggle to get to sleep at night? Or do you find yourself dropping off around midnight only to be wide awake at 2 or 3am? If this sounds all too familiar, you could be searching for tips to help you sleep better. Search no […]
Employer/Carrier Paid Costs
Ryan Knight, Associate, Miami For as long as most people in the industry can remember, the standard response on all petitions for benefits was “No PICA due or owing.” That all changed, however, with Judge Hedler’s opinion in Alfronseca v. Marco Barquero Painting, Inc., OJCC Case No. 16-009562TAH (October 13, 2017). In this case, Judge […]
Could Data From a Claimant’s Fitbit Be More Useful Than Surveillance?
Chris Niemiec, Partner, Jacksonville I recently took the deposition of a Claimant who was alleging a knee injury with ongoing complaints of pain and difficulty walking. To my surprise, he was wearing a Fitbit device on his wrist during the deposition. Wearable devices manufactured by companies such as Fitbit, Apple, and Google are designed […]
Briefly Speaking – Case Law Summaries (1/21/19)
William R. Kogler v. City of Palm Coast and FL League of Cities/Work Comp Claims Department JCC Anderson: Daytona Beach District Order Date: 12/27/18 OJCC Case: # 18-005944 Date of Accident: 6/5/17 Claimant’s Counsel: Darren Coleman & Roman Diveev E/C’s Counsel: Sean S. O’Connor JCC Order: Click Here Briefly: 120 Day pay and […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week – Ping Pong
Greetings, “Burden of proof” is one of those legal terms we defense attorneys throw around, but I have had the issue come up recently on compensability questions so thought it would make a good tip. Basically, it means who has to prove what. Think of the game of ping pong…if you have the ball, you […]
Briefly Speaking – Attorney Fee Issue (1/14/19)
Brian Phillips v. J.H. Williams Oil JCC Beck: Sarasota District Order Date: December 4, 2018 OJCC Case: 15-006114 JCC Order: Click Here Claimant’s Counsel: Rosemary B. Eure E/C’s Counsel: Mitchell R. Golden Hourly Fee Awarded: $250 per hour Summary: Employer/Carrier contended no attorney’s fees were due because […]