WALKER IMPERIAL, INC., AND AMERICAN STATES INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLANTS,
v.
JOAN STIDHAM, APPELLEE
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In a workers' compensation appeal, the Florida First District Court of Appeal reversed a deputy commissioner's award of temporary disability benefits to an injured employee, holding that once the treating physician determined she reached maximum medical improvement and could return to work, she was no longer entitled to disability benefits despite her difficulty finding employment.
The court held that an award of temporary total or temporary partial disability after January 2, 1980, when the employee had reached maximum medical improvement and was capable of working, constituted error. The employee's inability to obtain a job was not shown to be due to her injury, and her own testimony demonstrated she could have worked.
[1] Temporary disability benefits are not warranted when the claimant has reached maximum medical improvement and is able to return to work, absent evidence that the inabilit…
[2] An award of temporary disability benefits is improper when the only medical evidence establishes that the claimant reached maximum medical improvement and was able to ret…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The only medical evidence in the record (the testimony of the treating physician) indicates that appellee had reached maximum medical improvement and was able to return to work by January 2, 1980.”
Establishes the undisputed medical finding that terminated disability eligibility
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn August 1979, the employee injured her finger in a work-related accident. By January 2, 1980, her treating physician concluded she had reached maxim…
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McCORD, Judge.
Appellants, employer/carrier, appeal from the deputy commissioner’s order awarding temporary disability benefits to appellee. We reverse.
In August 1979, appellee injured the tip of her right index finger in a work-related accident. Her treating physician was of the opinion that by January 2, 1980, appellee had reached maximum medical improvement and that she could return to work at least on a trial basis with no medical restrictions. In February 1980, the treating physician assigned a 15% permanent partial impairment to the finger. Upon being released by the treating physician in January 1980, appellee, who was at that time two months pregnant, began a job search. She testified that several of her potential employers became uninterested in employing her when they learned that she was pregnant and that she had had a workers’ compensation claim. Other potential employers had no job openings. She testified that she felt she was able to perform the various jobs. After failing to find a job elsewhere, appellee moved to her parents’ farm where, during January and February, she took care of the livestock, cut grass, and performed general maintenance in exchange for a reduction in rent. Her father’s testimony indicated that she was still helping with the farm work at the time of the hearing.
After the hearing, the DC found appellant entitled to temporary partial disability benefits for January and February and to temporary total disability benefits from March 1,1980, until June 8,1980. He made no ruling on the date of maximum medical improvement.
The only medical evidence in the record (the testimony of the treating physician) indicates that appellee had reached maximum medical improvement and was able to return to work by January 2, 1980. Even appellee’s own testimony shows that she could have worked after January 2, 1980, if she could have found a job. She testified that she felt she could perform just about any job within her experience, and she actually did do farm labor for her parents. The evidence does not show that her inability to obtain a job was due to her injury. Thus, an award of temporary total or temporary partial disability after January 2, 1980, was error. Compare Lehigh Corp. v. Byrd, 397 So. 2d 1202 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981).
REVERSED.
ROBERT P. SMITH, Jr., C. J., and MILLS, J., concur.
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Citator
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Standard Indus. Linen Co. & Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Freeman, 419 So. 2d 711 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)…o. 2d 664 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). Instead, the evidence shows claimant was unable to work during this period because of unrelated gallbladder surgery. Under such circumstances the award of temporary benefits was error. Walker Imperial, Inc. v. Stidhim, 407 So. 2d 1029 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981); Fisher v. Carroll Daniel Fisher Construction Company, 212 So. 2d 289 (Fla.1969); Riverside Baptist Church v. O’Hara, IRC Order 2-2727 (1975); Reedy Creek Improvement District Fire Department v. LaCorte, IRC Order 2-3696 (1979);…
Authorities Cited
- Lehigh Corp. & U. S. Fid. & Guar. Co. v. Byrd, 397 So. 2d 1202 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)