Blog
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- You win, you get nothing?
Greetings, The 1st DCA issued a ruling last week regarding the award of claimant attorney’s fees when no actual benefits are awarded at the time of the trial, but possibly due later. The case is attached, Guerrea v. Becton Dickinson & Co. At the trial, the claimant’s was awarded an increase in his AWW, but […]
Briefly Speaking (5/9/2022)
Michael Keogh v. Haifa Limestone and Amerisure Insurance JCC Stephenson: West Palm Beach District Order date: 3/29/2022 OJCC Case: 19-018823CJS Date of Accident: 2/12/2016 Victorious Attorney: Ryan Knight- Miami Office Order: Click Here Briefly: Permanent Total Disability Summary: The claimant was involved in a work-related accident when he fell from […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- Traveling to and from work
Greetings, Last week the 1st DCA issued a decision regarding travel to work when the claimant did not have a fixed workplace but rather traveled to various jobsites. The case (DSK Group, Inc. v. Hernandez) is attached. The claimant was an electrician, and as he was driving in his personal vehicle from his home to […]
Morgan’s Tip of the week- Testing on unauthorized body parts
Greetings, We often see a doctor recommend treatment/testing to “rule in or rule out” that the injury is the cause of the ongoing symptoms or complaints. Common examples are blood work to see if there is any possible disease, a cervical MRI on a wrist/shoulder injury, bilateral EMG’s for comparison, etc….The doctor is in essence […]
Subrogation in Georgia: The Dog Bites, but it’s Bark is Still Much Worse, By Aaron Conley, Associate, Atlanta
When it comes to workers’ compensation claims, one of the more complicated and overlooked (possibly due to its difficulty) issues is subrogation. This combination of challenges is only made more daunting when it comes to subrogation under the Workers’ Compensation Act in Georgia. Over the years, subrogation in Georgia has developed a nasty reputation that […]
What Is This Petition For Benefits Even Requesting? – Knocking Out Requests That Lack Specificity, By Hunter Trubatch, Associate, Miami
We have all seen Petitions for Benefits (PFB) that request a litany of things. But have you even found yourself asking what specifically the PFB is requesting? Florida Statute §440.02(40) states that PFBs must be plead with specificity meaning referrals for any specialist must be attached, bills for payment/compensability must be attached or the specific […]
“Noa” When to Include Bonuses in Your AWW Calculations, By Chelsea England Leonard, Associate, Orlando
A request for an increase in the average weekly wage (AWW) is one of the most common requests in a Petition for Benefits. Calculating the AWW seems easy enough – add up thirteen weeks of earnings and divide by thirteen. While calculating the AWW may seem elementary, it can be tricky when determining what constitutes […]
A Playbook for Medical Evidence, By Betsy Campo, Partner, Gainesville
It is March madness time, and nothing is more thrilling than seeing the excitement of the teams as they come together and the best of the best battle for the championship. In some ways, it causes me to reminisce about the teamwork that has gone into defending the more memorable cases I’ve handled over the […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- DOAH changes
Greetings, As you may have heard, the Division of Admin Hearings (DOAH) just confirmed some long-rumored closures of 4 physical Judge of Compensation offices, Lakeland, Sebastian/Melbourne, Gainesville and Port. St. Lucie venues. The Judge in Lakeland, Judge Arthur will be headquartered in Tampa and the Judge in Gainesville, Judge Stanton, will be headquartered in Jacksonville. […]
Briefly Speaking (4/4/2022)
Steven Silberberg v. Palm Beach County School Board and York Risk Services Group First DCA Judges: Tenanbaum, Thomas, Winokur Order date: 2/16/2022 JCC Stephenson: West Palm Beach District Order date: 11/26/2019 OJCC Case: 19-006573CJS Date of Accident: 2/21/2019 Appellate Order: Click Here Briefly: Compensability in the age of Valcourt Summary: […]