Greetings, The 1st DCA issued a troubling decision regarding 1-time changes in St. Lucie Public Schools v. Alexander (case attached). In this case, the E/C timely responded to the 1-time change request, but because there was a 16-day gap in following up on an appointment, the E/C lost control of the choice of doctor. The […]
Greetings, A frustrating issue came up on one of my files and I thought it would be a good refresher tip of the week regarding reduced impairment benefits. Once a claimant is put at MMI, they are paid impairment benefits at a rate of 75% of their TTD rate per 440.15(3)(c). However, for each week […]
Greetings, Florida has announced an early end to the $300 Federal Unemployment benefit on 6/26/21. The Federal Benefit was slated to expire on 9/6/21, but several states have ended the program earlier. Florida will revert back to the state maximum of $275 a week. If you are taking an offset this will have to be […]
Greetings, The economy in Florida is starting to climb back, and tourism is returning (judging by the number of shrieking, wailing and marauding children at Orlando Int. Airport this weekend). As of right now, Floridians on Unemployment continue to receive the $300 Federal boost on top of the state max of $275. That is slated […]
Greetings, A JCC level case from a week ago caught my eye because it dealt with two issues that I am being asked about fairly frequently. (JCC level cases are not “the law”, and they are not binding on other JCC’s, but are sometimes good indicators as to how other JCC’s may rule). In this […]
Greetings, I often get questions on what to do when a claimant’s unrelated personal health issues delay surgery or treatment. Well the 1st DCA just affirmed a JCC decision on the issue (without a written DCA opinion) in Carter vs. Seminole Express (April 8, 2021). In this case, the ER could not accommodate light […]
Greetings, For some reason, over the last few weeks I have had quite a few questions regarding “fight” cases. I guess everyone is on edge these days. To be compensable, there are three questions to be asked: First, that the workplace was not merely the fortuitous site of the altercation. San Marco Co. v. Langford, […]
Greetings, Especially since the onset of COVID, we have to deal with a number of different scenarios where a personal or unrelated condition interfered with treatment for the WC injury or light duty. A few examples and solutions: Claimant unable to continue working LD because of unrelated personal health condition- you can suspend TPD as […]
Greetings, one of the elements of the proposed $1.9 Trillion COVID relief bill that is being negotiated in Congress is an increase the in the Federal Minimum wage. Rumor has it is that even if that gets stripped out it of the relief package, it will be a bill on its own. In Florida, if […]
Greetings, I have had several questions about a claimant reporting an alleged work-related COVID-19 claim well beyond the usual 30 day mark. While the WC statute says a claim must be reported within 30 days of when a claimant knows (or finds out from a doctor that it is work related), there is an exception […]