Slater v. Palm Beach County School District / Sedgwick CMS

HR Law Cases

JCC Hedler (WPB) (Andy Borah/Kate Albin)(10-27-21) – Denied compensability of accident, injuries and requests for medical care. The claimant worked as a teacher and injured her ankle when she fell down several steps walking from her classroom to the office. The E/C denied the claim based on the fall not arising out of her employment and that the fall was caused by an idiopathic condition. The claimant gave inconsistent accounts of what precipitated the fall. Initially, she made statements to EMS, the hospital and her Employer that she often gets dizzy during her menstrual cycle. In deposition, months later, she claimed not to recall what caused her fall. Almost 17 months later, she advanced a new theory that she became dizzy due to hot conditions in her classroom caused by a malfunctioning air conditioner. The E/C’s IME, Dr. Zuniga, was the only medical opinion to address the cause of the fall. Dr. Zuniga diagnosed vasovagal syncope triggered by menses and lack of food. He opined that even if the hot classroom also contributed to the syncope, it would have represented no more than one-third of the cause and accordingly, the hot classroom was not the MCC of the fall and resulting injuries. The JCC denied compensability by upholding the E/C’s arising out of defense finding that pursuant to the Sedgwick v. Valcourt-Williams en banc 1st DCA decision, unexplained falls that occur within the course and scope of employment and on the employer’s premises are not compensable since there is no occupational causation. The JCC also denied compensability on alternative grounds since the uncontroverted opinion from Dr. Zuniga asserted that the nonwork-related causes of the claimant experiencing dizziness around her menstrual cycle and not eating since the night before were the major contributing causes of the claimant’s fall and resulting injury.   Click here to view Order