Blog
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- Independent Contractors and FL WC
Greetings, I have received a few questions about what impact the US Dept Of Labor’s new rule on Independent Contractors will have on FL Workers’ Comp. The DOL’s rule was released on 1/10/24, and goes into effect on 3/11/24, a link to the press release and the actual rule are at the bottom. The DOL […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- Important Atty Fee Decision
Greetings, Last week the Florida 1st DCA issued a long-awaited ruling regarding claimant’s attorney fees in Rudolph v. Darrien Smith/Home Depot, 1D2022-1627. https://1dca.flcourts.gov/content/download/1679907/opinion/Opinion_2022-1627.pdf The crux of the case was when can a JCC award hourly fees instead of the guideline fee, if the JCC finds the guideline fee to be too high. In Smith, the […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- Getting timely medical reports
Greetings, Sometimes, it can be difficult to obtain medical records and DWC-25’s timely from doctors’ offices so we can ensure we are following the work status and not creating over or underpayments. Well, the FL WC statute (along with the Dept of Financial Services regulations) does give you some guidance on how you can encourage […]
January Briefly Speaking
Editor: Felicia Wymer Authors: Travis Coleman and Libby Nelson Alicia Luna Luna v. Southern Meat Sales, Inc. and Bridgefield Casualty Insurance Company JCC Anderson: Orlando District Order date: November 29, 2023 OJCC Case: 22-028226WWA Date of Accident: March 1, 2022 JCC Order: Click Here Briefly: Misrepresentation Summary: The Claimant slipped and fell down a […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- Indemnity during gaps in treatment
Greetings, An issue comes up when there is a gap in treatment, resulting in a gap in indemnity benefits. The most common gaps I see are: From a pure technical claims handling standpoint, you do not owe the indemnity during any of these gaps IF that is all the evidence/information you have at that point. […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- PFB responses
Greetings and Happy New Year, I have been asked to do a refresher on responding to PFB’s. (For those of you that want more details, we do offer a CEU that we can present on this topic). Here are a few key things to remember: Of note, you can file an amended PFB response within […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- Annual FL WC stats
Greetings, DOAH (Division of Administrative Hearings) just published their annual report, and it is a great study of where WC is today in Florida. Below is a link to the report, but do not hit print unless you have a spare ream of paper just laying around, it is 282 pages. The study covers DOAH’s […]
Briefly Speaking- 2023 Tennessee Case Law Update
By Ben Norris | Tennessee Associate Lindsay v. State Industries, LLC, et al. (January 19, 2023) Appellate Court: Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board Issue: Employee’s Lack of Medical ProofSummary: Despite his lack of medical proof to refute the opinions of two physicians who opined his work accident did not cause his back injury, the employee continued to pursue […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- 2024 Max Comp Rate and other year end reminders
Greetings, a few year-end news, notes and reminders: “The maximum weekly compensation rate for work-related injuries and illnesses occurring on or after January 1, 2024 shall be $1,260.” https://www.myfloridacfo.com/docs-sf/workers-compensation-libraries/workers-comp-documents/bulletins/max-comp-rate-2024-information-bulletin.pdf That’s a $63 increase from 2023’s rate of $1,197. This affects claims with a date of accident 1/1/24 or thereafter. For dates of accident from 10/1/2003 […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- Accidents at Employer Holiday events
Greetings, Tis the season…for WC injuries at Employer holiday events. Compensable? It depends. (This same analysis applies to all events throughout the year, not just holiday parties.) For an injury to be compensable from a recreational/social activity, two things must be true about the event: 440.092 (1) RECREATIONAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES.—Recreational or social activities are not […]