Florida Injury Attorney Blawg

Florida Statute 440.13 governs the provision of medical care under Florida’s workers’ compensation system. For the most part, the Employer and its insurance carrier — “E/C” — control the provision of medical care. The most dominant aspect of this control is the right to select the injured worker’s treating doctors. Unfortunately, most of these doctors…

Every type of legal matter is governed by consequential procedural and substantive rules and regulations. Some are universal to every type of case, while some are unique to the particular type of legal matter. Florida’s workers’ compensation system, in particular, has many consequential unique rules and regulations. This blog will address one of them, the…

On March 24, 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill passed by the Florida Legislature aimed at limiting the rights of individuals from seeking and obtaining civil redress in the courts for personal injuries. The bill is House Bill 837. Parts of the bill became effective when it was signed by DeSantis.…

We have a case in which the defendant knowingly did the same thing after we sued him that he denied doing knowingly in our case. The thing he has denied doing forms the crux of our case. The case is on the trial docket. In the lead-up to calendar call, defendant filed a Motion in…

With limited resources at their disposal, court systems nationwide endeavor to operate with judicial economy. This is one reason why the settlement of cases is encouraged. Presently, Florida has twenty-nine judges of workers’ compensation claims (JCC) statewide to handle a workforce of some 10 million people. Each JCC’s docket is bursting at the seams. It…

For purposes of this blog, a transitory substance is any solid or liquid substance, object, or item that is located in a place where it does not belong. Certain legal standards must be met in order to prevail in a case for personal injuries caused by a transitory substance. Before Owens v. Publix Supermarkets, Inc.,…

Accidents happen. Being properly insured for motor vehicle crashes is good for the insured and for persons harmed through the insured’s negligence. Florida is one of only three states that does not require owners of motor vehicles registered in the state to maintain bodily injury (BI) insurance. Bodily injury insurance covers losses for economic (e.g.,…

Injured employees are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Undocumented aliens are considered employees under Florida’s workers’ compensation system. Section 440.02(15)(a), Florida Statutes provides as follows: “Employee” means any person who receives remuneration from an employer for the performance of any work or service while engaged in any employment under any appointment or contract for hire…

Florida’s liability law and workers’ compensation systems are cautious about awarding benefits for mental and nervous injuries. The underlying basis for the caution is that allowing recovery for injuries resulting from purely emotional distress would open the floodgates for fictitious or speculative claims. R.J. v. Humana of Florida, Inc., 652 So.2d 360 (Fla.1995). What has…

Florida employees hurt at work have the potential of being compensated under the State’s workers’ compensation and civil laws. To recover under civil law against employers and fellow employees (including corporate officers or directors, supervisors, and managers), employees must overcome workers’ compensation immunity. Section 440.11(1)(b), Florida Statutes sets out what employees must prove to overcome…