Articles Posted in Workers' Compensation

It is the job of every injury lawyer to maximize the client’s recovery. Sometimes when a person is hurt at work, more than one remedy is available. Workers’ compensation is one remedy. Civil law is another. Florida’s workers’ compensation laws do not allow for the recovery of noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering. Workers’…

Florida’s workers’ compensation system provides for three types of weekly indemnity benefits: 440.15(1) Permanent Total Disability440.15(2) Temporary Total Disability400.15(4) Temporary Partial Disability An injured worker may simultaneously be eligible for monthly Social Security Disability benefits under 42 U.S.C. s. 423. If the combined benefits exceed 80% of the claimant’s workers’ compensation average weekly wage (AWW),…

What began as a product liability investigation, ended in a $2,000,000 personal injury settlement against the owner of an altered riding lawnmower (pictured). Our client lost his right leg when run over by the lawnmower he was operating for his employer. Initially thinking that the mower was owned by the employer, which would give the…

Until six years ago, it was a crime in Florida for an attorney to accept a fee from a claimant in a workers’ compensation case that was not approved by a Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) in accordance with the fee formula contained in section 440.34(1), Florida Statutes. Section 440.105(3)(c), Florida Statutes. The crime was…

Think of an injury case like navigating a ship from one port to another. Signing up the case is the equivalent of throwing off the ropes and pulling safely away from the dock. Being at sea is analogous to litigation. Some days you will eat the bear and some days the bear will eat you.…

Some wrongs present the aggrieved party with more than one legal remedy. A common example is when an injured person has the option of seeking a recovery under common law or workers’ compensation pursuant to Chapter 440, Florida Statutes. Once the choice is made and pursued beyond a certain point, the alternate option cannot be…

In City of Jacksonville v. Ratliff, 217 So. 3d 183 (Fla. 1st DCE 2017), a firefighter with a pre-existing history of diabetes, high cholesterol, prior history of smoking, and a family history of early onset CAD – blocked arteries (CAD – coronary artery disease) caused by the build-up of plaque – among other pre-existing factors,…

We currently represent an elderly woman who was knocked down in the hallway of her condominium building by a large, unleashed dog. She fell and struck her head on the ground. In the days following the event, she had headaches and was lightheaded. While taking a shower, she fainted. As a result of this event,…

Unless you are a firefighter or any law enforcement officer, correctional officer, or correctional probation officer, in order to receive workers’ compensation benefits under Chapter 440 of the Florida Statutes for any condition or impairment of health caused by tuberculosis, heart disease, or hypertension, the burden will be on you to establish to a reasonable…

It is not unusual for entities other than the workers’ compensation insurance carrier to pay medical expenses following a work-related accident. The most common payors are health insurance carriers, Medicare, and Medicaid. (PIP (a/k/a “No Fault”) insurance also pays if the accident involves motor vehicles, but since their rights are different than those of the…