VERDI'S ITALIAN RESTAURANT AND AMERICAN LIBERTY INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLANTS,
v.
MARION CAMPANELLA, APPELLEE
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The court affirmed the award of wage loss benefits and medical care for a weight-loss program, finding the claimant made a sincere effort to return to work and the program was palliative.
[1] An award of wage loss benefits is affirmed when the claimant makes a genuine and sincere effort to return to work after being released by a treating physician.
[2] Medical care that is palliative in nature, aimed at relieving pain and lowering blood pressure, is not inconsistent with a finding of maximum medical improvement in a wor…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceClaimant suffered a work-related knee injury, underwent surgery, and was awarded wage loss benefits and medical care for a weight-loss program. The em…
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PER CURIAM.
This cause is before us on appeal from an order entered in a workers’ compensation proceeding challenged here by the employer/carrier as to the award of wage loss benefits and medical care relative to a weight-loss program and as to the determination that claimant reached maximum medical improvement on October 27, 1980. We affirm.
Marion Campanella, a 57-year-old high school graduate with extensive experience in accounting and bookkeeping, suffered a work-connected accident on December 11, 1979, when she fell, injuring her knee. Knee surgery was performed, and claimant was determined to have reached maximum medical improvement as of October 27, 1980, with a ten percent permanent disability.
We affirm the deputy’s award of wage loss benefits, awarded from October 27, 1980 to the date of hearing with credit for all benefits paid during this interval, based upon the deputy’s finding that claimant made a genuine and sincere effort to return to work after being released by her treating physician. The deputy’s award of medical care relative to claimant’s weight-loss program is palliative in nature, aimed at relieving the pain in her leg and lowering her blood pressure, and is therefore not inconsistent with the deputy’s finding of maximum medical improvement. We therefore affirm the deputy’s order regarding the weight-loss program, but with the caveat that claimant has a corresponding duty to take reasonable measures to reduce her disability by cooperating fully in the weight-loss program. The employer/carrier is not required to supply such palliative treatment indefinitely or in the absence of claimant’s voluntary cooperation, and may seek modification of the deputy’s order in this regard if the weight-loss program fails to achieve desired results within a reasonable period of time. See, Benton & Company, Inc. v. Lopinto, IRC Order 2-2513 (1974), and Lobintz v. Orange Memorial Hospital, 126 So. 2d 739 (Fla.1961).
The judgment is affirmed.
McCORD, BOOTH and WENTWORTH, JJ., concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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Prof'l Administrators & Nationwide Ins. Co. v. MacIas, 448 So. 2d 1159 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)…effects of the injury. See Lopez v. Pennsuco Cement and Aggregates Inc., 401 So. 2d 875 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). Such palliative treatment for the relief of pain is awardable after claimant has attained MMI. See Verdi’s Italian Restaurant v. Campanella, 423 So. 2d 582 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982). In the present case Dr. Ferking has suggested that his chiropractic treatment is remedial in nature. However, claimant’s own testimony establishes that she is utilizing Dr. Ferking for the temporary relief of pain so as to enabl…
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Karlton A. Brown v. Steego Auto Parts & Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 585 So. 2d 401 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)…t DCA 1991). Thus, a weight-loss program which would alleviate pain resulting from the industrial accident may be properly awarded as a medical benefit even if the need for the program preceded the accident. Verdi’s Italian Restaurant v. Campanella, 423 So. 2d 582 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982). The issue in the instant case is whether the JCC misinterpreted the testimony or misconstrued the law regarding the medical necessity of the weight-loss program. Such a misinterpretation of testimony by a JCC may result in lega…
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Hewett v. Town OF Mayo, 614 So. 2d 598 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993)…an be awarded as either a form of treatment or as palliative care. See, e.g., Brown v. Steego Auto Parts, 585 So. 2d 401 (Fla. 1st DCA1991); Primous v. Flagler Sys., Inc., 477 So. 2d 1057 (Fla. 1st DCA1985); Verdi’s Italian Restaurant v. Campanella, 423 So. 2d 582 (Fla. 1st DCA1982). REVERSED and REMANDED. BOOTH and WEBSTER, JJ., concur. . In ordering the weight reduction program, the JCC recited Dr. Mouat’s testimony that a possibility existed of the presence of disk disease, but that such was difficult t…
Authorities Cited
- Davidson v. City OF Coral Gables, 126 So. 2d 739 (Fla. 1961)