Resources

JCC Forte (Fort Lauderdale) (Tony Amelio) (8-10-21)– Denied Compensability. The claimant, a leased employee, alleged that he injured his left arm when he fell from a ladder. The claimant initially reported to Care Sport and reported that he smoked medical marijuana. On this visit, he also reported that he fell off his roof at home, when the accident occurred at work.  Further, he initially refused to submit to a drug test. However, subsequently, 14 days post-accident, he presented for a... View More

JCC Pitts (Orlando) (Bill Rogner)(8-5-21) – Denied compensability for untimely reporting. Claimant was pro se at trial but had been previously represented by counsel. Claimant’s apparently otherwise compensable MVA was not timely reported to the PEO. Claimant owned the client company and, accordingly, signed an employee contract with the PEO as well as a client leasing agreement, both of which required any accident to be reported to the PEO within 30 days and expressly indicated that failure to do so... View More

JCC Kerr (Miami) (Andy Borah for the E/C)(7-1-21) – Denied claimant’s amendment to Pretrial Stipulation, TPD benefits, attorney’s fees, and costs. The claimant argued that the claim for “Penalties and Interest: P&I for TP from March 1, 2020 through December 21, 2020” was scrivener’s error and sought to amend the pretrial claim at Final Hearing to a claim for TPD from 3/23/2020 to 12/20/2020 plus penalties and interest. The claimant argued that the parties tried the issue by consent and... View More

JCC Stephenson (West Palm Beach)(Tony Amelio)(6-18-21) – Denied PTD and authorization of T6-L4 fusion surgery.  Following the claimant’s 2008 accident, the E/C immediately and consistently accepted a lumbar strain/sprain only and a temporary exacerbation of a prior herniation / scoliosis / dextroscoliosis. They continued to assert that position even though the pre-existing conditions ultimately resulted in recommendations for a fusion, and asserted the prior conditions were the MCC of any disability or need for treatment.  The claimant was seen by multiple... View More

JCC Medina-Shore (Miami)(Scott Miller)(6-4-21)– Denied compensability and payment of hospital bills.  Claimant presented to the hospital while under the care of a treating physician and then sought payment of those medical bills.  The hospital records were not admitted into evidence and the treating physician was never provided with the hospital records.  Therefore, he was unable to opine as to whether or not the care received was an emergency.  Further, the treating physician could not opine as to whether the major... View More

JCC Hedler (West Palm Beach)(Derrick Cox)(6-10-21) – Granted Claimant’s Motion to Strike in part and denied in part.  Claimant moved to strike the testimony of the E/C’s biomechanical engineer, Jonathan Walter under the Daubert standard.  Claimant objected to the expert’s opinions regarding major contributing cause of the Claimant’s condition, opinions concerning forces that caused injury to the Claimant, opinions that drumming as a hobby was the major contributing cause of the Claimant’s injuries or condition and opinions that forces of... View More