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 […]
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), […]
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 […]
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 […]
Greetings, Although the Florida Legislative session ended May 5th, HB 487 was signed into law at the end of last week (5/25/23). There are two parts of the bill that deal directly with Florida Workers’ Compensation, but no drastic changes. Well the new statute removes the word “shall” and replaces it with “may”. This means […]
Greetings, In the last week I received a few questions about how far is too far for a claimant to travel for medical treatment. A big thank you to Ryan Knight of our Miami office for helping with the caselaw below on this one. (if you need anything in Miami-Ft/ Lauderdale, Ryan is fantastic: rknight@eraclides.com) […]
Greetings, good surveillance can be an effective tool in defending a WC claim in Florida. The decision on how, when and where to use it effectively can be tricky. The three primary objectives in utilizing surveillance are: Let’s look at each of those separately. As an aside, it is very important you confer with defense […]
Greetings, everyone makes mistakes, but they are always fixable (well almost always). Occasionally I will have an adjuster reach out to me thinking that had previously assigned defense with a mediation set for that day. And without fail, our firm will be able to handle it or get it moved. But I know, for some […]
Greetings, I just had a very interesting question this morning regarding reporting of claims and when the E/C needs to send the initial packet/brochure to the claimant. If an Employer files a “report only” or “First-Aid” only claim to the Carrier, does the carrier have to set up a claim and mail the claimant the […]
Greetings, Many things we deal with in Florida WC have tight deadlines. For example, we have 30 days to respond to a Request to Produce, 7 days to pay an order, 14 days to issue a settlement check, 3 days to respond to a request for medical treatment from an authorized doctor to avoid waiving […]