Greetings, As you may have heard, there are proposed changes at the Federal level regarding the use of medical marijuana. As of right now there has been no official change yet, but here is a recap of where we are in Florida, the proposed changes at the Federal level and the timing, and the likely […]
Greetings, there is a lot of confusion surrounding contact with a claimant who is represented by an attorney in Florida. Very often, the claimant’s attorney advises that neither the adjuster nor the nurse case manager can have any contact with the claimant. While that does hold true, the one exception is communicating appointment information to […]
Greetings, After we accept a claim as compensable, sometimes new conditions arise that may or may not be compensable. A great example of this is a referral to a psychiatrist from the authorized doctor. In this instance, where a new condition arises more than 120 days after the accident, are we stuck with it because […]
Greetings, I have received a few questions recently about when settlement checks are due to avoid a late payment, and a resulting 20% penalty and interest. The statute under 440.20(11)(c) states payment must be made within 14 days after the JCC “mails” the order approving attorney fees. We often mistakenly refer to it as […]
Greetings, The Florida Legislature passed a bill increasing the fee schedule physicians can charge for treating a WC patient. The bill is awaiting the Governor’s signature before becoming law, tentatively effective 1/1/2025. A link to a copy of the bill is below, along with a link to an article on the changes. The Florida fee […]
Greetings, I had a few questions recently about claimant’s collecting Unemployment benefits while claiming lost wages in Florida WC. Florida has returned to its pre-Covid level of Unemployment benefits (UE). 2024 Claim Maximums: 12 weeks The Florida WC statute addresses how UE is handled when claiming TTD/TPD in 440.15(10) (statute below). Your employer should have […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]