SPECIAL DISABILITY TRUST FUND, APPELLANT,
v.
GEOPHYSICAL SERVICES, INC. AND FIDELITY & CASUALTY COMPANY AND UNDERWRITERS ADJUSTING COMPANY, APPELLEES
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The Special Disability Trust Fund appealed a deputy commissioner's decision ordering reimbursement for excess workers' compensation liability incurred when a disabled worker suffered an industrial accident. The court affirmed, holding that the Fund's interpretation of a 60-day appeal deadline would unfairly bar reimbursement when a carrier files a claim prematurely before actual compensation is paid.
The court held that the carrier is not barred from reimbursement. The statute requires timely appeal only when a claim is ripe for adjudication; it does not contemplate barring a subsequent claim when the original claim was dismissed as premature. Filing a subsequent claim after actual compensation is paid does not violate the 60-day appeal deadline.
[1] A claim for reimbursement from the Special Disability Trust Fund is not barred by the claimant's failure to appeal an initial denial if that denial was based on the claim…
[2] The Special Disability Trust Fund's denial of a claim for reimbursement due to premature filing does not preclude a subsequent claim once the conditions for reimbursement…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“To provide an incentive for employers to hire the disabled, the Florida Legislature enacted Section 440.49 which reimburses employers and carriers for "excess liability" they incur when a disabled worker has an industrial accident that creates a disability greater than it would have been without his preexisting condition.”
Establishes the legislative purpose and scope of the reimbursement statute.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA carrier applied to the Special Disability Trust Fund for reimbursement of excess liability under Section 440.49 before paying out any excess compens…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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WIGGINTON, Judge.
This appeal presents a novel question regarding employer/carrier claims for reimbursement from the Special Disability Trust Fund. The deputy commissioner ordered reimbursement in this case, and the Fund urges error in the deputy’s failure to bar the claim pursuant to Section 440.49(5)(g), Florida Statutes (Supp.1978). We affirm.
To provide an incentive for employers to hire the disabled, the Florida Legislature enacted Section 440.49 which reimburses employers and carriers for “excess liability” they incur when a disabled worker has an industrial accident that creates a disability greater than it would have been without his preexisting condition. Here, the carrier applied for reimbursement before it paid out any “excess” compensation, and by letter of September 8, 1980, the Fund denied the carrier’s claim for this reason.
Subsequently, the carrier paid excess compensation, and on December 1, 1980, it notified the Fund, requesting reimbursement. Once again the Fund denied the claim. It contends that the carrier was barred by Section 440.49(5)(g) which provides:
If the Special Disability Trust Fund through its representative denies or controverts the claim, the right to such reimbursement shall be barred unless an application for a hearing thereon is filed with the division at Tallahassee within 60 days after notice to the employer or carrier of such denial or controversion [footnote omitted].
In essence, the Fund has argued that the carrier’s failure to timely appeal the Fund’s September 8 denial letter has automatically resulted in a bar to the subsequent claim for reimbursement. The deputy disagreed. So do we.
The statute does not require the deputy to bar this claim. Plainly, it requires that when a carrier takes an appeal to a deputy, that appeal must be timely. The statute does not contemplate a situation where, as here, a claim is dismissed because it is filed too early, causing the carrier to file a subsequent claim. The deputy correctly concluded that the original claim was not ripe for adjudication when the Fund issued its September 8 denial, so any application for hearing then would have been purposeless.
Under the Fund’s interpretation of the statute, this employer/carrier would be forever barred from reimbursement simply because it filed its claim prematurely. We decline to apply such a technical and mechanistic interpretation of the statute.
The deputy commissioner’s order is affirmed.
BOOTH and WENTWORTH, JJ., concur.
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Gunn's Quality Glass & Mirrors, Inc. v. Strode, 425 So. 2d 73 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)…e conclusions of the deputy commissioner. We do not favor a technical and mechanistic approach to filing requirements. Florida Erection Services v. McDonald, 395 So. 2d 203 (Fla.App.1981); Special Disability Trust Fund v. Geophysical Services, Inc., 414 So. 2d 644 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982). We will treat the claim as properly filed, even though it was completed and mailed before the claimant’s disability began. However, if purely technical requirements are considered, a claim is not “filed” until it reaches the div…
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Polk Cnty. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs & Commercial Risk Mgmt. v. Special Disability Tr. Fund, 753 So. 2d 769 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000)…ecial Disability Trust Fund’s denial of reimbursement based on filing too early does not result in a bar to a subsequent claim for reimbursement once excess compensation has been paid. See Special Disability Trust Fund v. Geophysical Services, Inc., 414 So. 2d 644, 644 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982). This is true even here, where, in addition to dismissing the claim for reimbursement for being filed too early, the SDTF also disputed the merits of the claim. Requiring appellant to seek a hearing on the merits, knowing th…