In Wesco Insurance Co. v. Casto, a man sued a Florida company in federal court for personal injuries he allegedly suffered in a collision while driving a dump truck that was owned by the company. In response to the lawsuit, the company sought defense and indemnity from its motor vehicle insurer.…
Florida’s First District Court of Appeal has affirmed an order granting workers’ compensation benefits to a sheriff’s deputy who was hurt on his way to work. In Levy County Sheriff’s Office v. Allen, a deputy employed by the Levy County Sheriff’s Office for more than 41 years was traveling to…
Florida’s First District Court of Appeals has overturned a judge’s denial of a repetitive use injury workers’ compensation claim. In Caceres v. Sedano’s Supermarkets, a grocery store employee filed a workers’ compensation claim for repetitive trauma injuries he allegedly sustained while on the job several years earlier. A Judge of…
In Florida, you do not have the right to pick your doctor if you file a workers’ compensation claim. Most of the time the insurance carrier picks the doctor. Florida Statutes Section 440.13(2)(f) gives a worker the opportunity to change a physician once during the course of treatment for a…
In a recent case, a woman appealed form summary judgment entered in favor of a general contractor for whom her husband had worked. The case arose when the general contractor was managing a project at a processing plant in Miami. A plumbing company and its supplier was also on the…
In Florida, an Expert Medical Advisor (or “EMA”) is asked by a workers’ compensation judge to resolve certain controversies. A judge must order an EMA if either party requests one. They also must be called when there is a disagreement between two independent medical examiners. A judge may also choose…
In Florida there is a 104-week time limit on temporary disability benefits. The problems with the way this limit was applied were first addressed in a 1998 case in which the claimant was almost at the end of the 104-week period, but he hadn’t reached maximum medical improvement. The appellate…
Under Florida Workers’ Compensation law, employers have worker’s compensation immunity for their employees. An “employee” also means an independent contractor working in the construction industry. It does not, however, include someone who is an owner-operator of a motor vehicle who transports a haul under contract with a “motor carrier.” If…
In Florida, workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy an employee has against an employer when he gets hurt in the course and scope of his job, except under very limited circumstances. Sometimes this can seem unfair when an accident is extremely severe. There is, however, an intentional tort exception to…
A Florida appellate court recently dealt with the differences between personal injury lawsuits brought against a decedent’s employers versus his coworker who caused his injury/death. In this case, the defendant was a spotter driver who used tractors to move trailers for purposes of loading and unloading merchandise. One morning, he…