Blog
Morgan’s Tip of the Week-Clmt moves away from light duty
Greetings, What do you do when a claimant moves away from a light duty job and the Employer does not have any light duty work in the geographic area of the claimant’s new residence? At first glance, it feels like that is a voluntary limitation of income, and you could deny Temporary Partial Disability. Well…maybe…maybe […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- Types of Claimant Atty Fees in FL
Greetings, The world of claimant attorney fees can be somewhat confusing, so I thought I would go over the types of fees under the law. There are attorney fees that are paid by the Employer/Carrier, and those that are paid by the claimant to their attorney (sort of anyway). Settlements are typically worded as inclusive […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- partial TPD denials
Greetings, How do you handle a claimant who refuses or is fired from light duty, if the light duty offered did not pay 80% of their AWW? For example, the employer can only offer 20 hours a week light duty, and the carrier is paying some TPD based on the 80%/80% TPD formula, but then […]
EG Gazette- FALL 2023
“Taking It Easy: Things to Consider When Offering a Light Duty Position” By: Marilyn Linares and Elias Jreji | Jacksonville, FL Not every employer can offer light duty or even modified duty. There are companies, such as ReEmployAbility, which offer return-to-work programs, typically placing the claimant with local non-profit agencies such as Goodwill and Salvation […]
Georgia Case Law Update
Georgia Case Law Update Georgia- New Case Law on Panels The Georgia Court of Appeals issued a decision regarding the location of the Panel in LILIENTHAL v. JLK, INC. et al. A23A0290. A copy is below. At issue here is whether the Employer placed the Panel of physicians in “prominent places upon the business premises” as required […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- Medical Marijuana cards
Greetings, We are still in a bit of no man’s land on definitive answers regarding the use of Medical Marijuana and the intoxication defense in Florida. (The 1st DCA has upheld the law that WC does not need to pay for Medical Marijuana.) Gustafson’s Dairy v. Phillips, 656 So.2d 1386(Fla.1st DCA 1995). The claimant’s arm […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- Prevailing Party Costs
Greetings, In the 2015 Jennings v. Habana case (link below), the 1st DCA established that prevailing party costs are separate and distinct from claimant’s attorney fees. The DCA opined that if the Employer/Carrier provides any benefits after a Petition for Benefits is filed, the claimant “prevailed”. The court felt this was the case even if […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- FL new immigration law and WC
Greetings, I have a received a few questions about the impact Florida Senate Bill 1718 will have on Florida WC. The new law imposes stricter penalties on those who smuggle unauthorized aliens, etc…but a few provisions will have an indirect effect on WC. Taken from the Florida Senate’s summary of the new law (link below), […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- Potential caselaw change to FL WC SOL
Greetings, If any of you have attended our firm’s CEU’s or webinars over the years, you have likely heard us explain the Florida WC Statute of Limitations as “2 years from the date of accident or 1 year from the last provision of a benefit, whichever is later.” And that is how the courts and […]
Morgan’s Tip of the Week- Important new 120-day rule letter case
Greetings, last week the 1st DCA issued a ruling regarding the 120-day rule and the necessity of sending the “120-day letter” in the link below is the case of Churchill v. DBI Services (1D21-3199). The “initial provision of compensation or benefits” starts a Carrier’s 14- day clock to “pay, pay and investigate, or deny” and […]