Greetings, lately I have received a few questions about impairment benefits (AKA permanent impairment benefits, IB’s or PIB’s). When are they due?   Per 440.15(3)(a) they first payment is due 14 (calendar) days after the carrier has knowledge of the rating.  So the clock starts when you receive the rating from the provider (date stamped at […]

Greetings, Sometimes when we are dealing with doctors who are not as familiar with the WC system, we have a difficult time getting them to address MMI, impairment ratings, etc…and complete the DWC-25.. Well the statute does provide us with some tools to help.  (This of course assumes the claimant is or should be at […]

Greetings, DOAH (Division of Administrative Hearings) , the entity that runs the Fla WC court system just put out their preliminary annual report on the statistics of the Mediation process.  The full annual report on the entire system should be out in a month or so.   DOAH’s fiscal year runs July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019. […]

Greetings,  By special request, here is a tip on the “120-day rule”, one of the more frequent questions I see. Because of conflicting caselaw over the years, there is still some lingering confusion.   The 120 day rule goes to the compensability of the accident itself, as well as subsequent body parts that arise.   More on […]

Greetings, one of the most frequent questions I get is about exposure-type claims.  This is the tip I sent last year on it, so I thought I would resend. When the statute was amended in 2003, the Fla. Legislature intentionally created a higher burden for a claimant to prove an exposure claim. (Note an Exposure […]

Greetings, I am starting to see a few claims where the claimant tests positive for marijuana post-accident, and they have a Florida medical marijuana card.   I have not yet seen one where the drug screen was done within a short enough window of time to deny the entire claim under the intoxication defense yet though. […]

Greetings, Subrogation is one of the more frustrating and intricate aspects of Fla WC law.   In essence, the idea is that a claimant should not be able to “double-dip” and collect money from a liability lawsuit and a WC claim for the same things, like medical benefits and lost wages. A few basics…there has to […]

Greetings, I am often asked what can be done with the “old dog” claims where the claimant simply goes to the doctor once a year to keep the Statute of Limitations from expiring. There is a case that addresses the issue, but also a word of caution.  You have to look at the economics of […]

Greetings, Probably one of the most commonly litigated benefits is TPD after a claimant is terminated or quits.   In fact, I just had a trial on the issue (the good guys won). There are a few different scenarios: Claimant terminated for Misconduct–   If a claimant is terminated from post-injury light duty employment, their right to […]

Greetings, I have had a few questions about denying a claim when a claimant has been uncooperative in a few different scenarios.  Most of the time, the statute does not allow for a full denial, but there are some remedies available to the Employer/Carrier. Claimant refuses to call you back to complete the 3-point contact […]