wOrKers’ COmPeNsatiON CaseLaw uPdate
Workers’ Compensation Section
Continued from page 72
benefits, relying in part on the
employer/carrier’s IME report,
despite a hearsay objection.
The First District held that
an IME report can be admitted
and relied upon over a hearsay
objection, without a deposition to
authenticate the report or opinions.
The opinion cites conflict with a
leading text on IME reports, Florida
Evidence, by Professor Charles
Ehrhardt (West Publishing) (1999 ed.)
In another recent case of note,
Liberty Mutual v. Miller, 278 So.3d
948 (Fla. 1st DCA 2019), the First
District dismissed an appeal of
a decision denying a motion to
enforce settlement, because it was
not a final order or an appealable
non-final order.
In a third recent case, Hernandez
v. Food Market Corp, No. 1D18-
4406 (Fla. 1st DCA 2019), a
claimant, who was an illegal alien,
admitted she gave an invalid Social
Security Number on a form to
claim benefits, because she believed
that she would not receive benefits
unless she gave a Social Security
Number. Interesting arguments on
immigration and federal law were
raised, but the benefits were denied
on the premise that intentionally
giving the false number constituted
fraud, which results in forfeiture of
benefits under the Act.
In a final recent case of note,
an award of costs to the employer/
carrier was affirmed in Coto v
Univision, No. 1D19-0533 (Fla.
1st DCA 2019). In the case, the
day before a final hearing on
a PRP injection and surgery, the
employer/carrier authorized the
PRP injection, and the claimant
voluntarily dismissed the petition
for benefits in hopes the PRP
injection would be successful
without the surgery. Subsequently,
the surgery at issue was authorized.
The employer/carrier filed a
petition for costs and was awarded
$1,074.34 because of the voluntary
dismissal. The award was affirmed
per curium, with a comment in the
concurrence that the Legislature
should, “consider whether an
employee who files a petition for
benefits in good faith should be
subject to the imposition of costs.” n
Author: Anthony V. Cortese – Anthony
Cortese, Attorney at Law
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