PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST/JACKSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, APPELLANT,
v.
ROSA LEE COOPER, APPELLEE
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Public Health Trust, a self-insured employer, appealed a workers' compensation award that included temporary total disability benefits, medical bills, and attorney's fees. The court affirmed the disability and medical benefits but reversed the attorney's fees award, finding no statutory basis under Florida law for the fee in this case.
The court held that attorney's fees were improper and reversed that portion of the award. Section 440.34(2)(a) did not apply because the temporary disability claim, filed for a date preceding the hospitalization and surgery, was not part of the claimant's essential medical care and therefore did not qualify as a claim for medical benefits alone.
[1] An award of attorney's fees is improper when the employer/self-insured has not acted in bad faith and has not denied that the claimant suffered a compensable injury.
[2] A claim for temporary total disability benefits that precedes hospitalization and surgery is not considered part of a claimant's essential medical care for the purpose of…
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Section 440.34(2), Florida Statutes (1979), provides for the award of attorney's fees in three instances, none of which occurred here.”
Establishes that the court found no applicable statutory basis for awarding attorney's fees in this case.
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRosa Lee Cooper, an employee of Public Health Trust/Jackson Memorial Hospital, filed a workers' compensation claim. He filed a separate claim for temp…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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LARRY G. SMITH, Judge.
The employer/self-insured appeals an order of the deputy commissioner awarding temporary total disability compensation benefits, payment of certain medical bills, and attorney’s fees. We agree that the deputy’s award of attorney’s fees was improper and must be reversed. In all other respects, the order is affirmed.
Section 440.34(2), Florida Statutes (1979), provides for the award of attorney’s fees in three instances, none of which occurred here. No evidence was presented establishing bad faith on the part of the employer/self-insured and the employer/self-insured did not deny that claimant suffered a compensable injury, therefore paragraphs (b) and (c) of Section 440.34(2) are inapplicable. Four Quarters Habitat, Inc. v. Miller, 405 So. 2d 475 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). Nevertheless, claimant contends that Section 440.34(2)(a) is applicable even though he filed á claim for temporary disability as well as a claim for medical benefits, since the claim for temporary benefits was essentially part of his claim for medical benefits. Landers Construction v. Delauder, 417 So. 2d 989 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981).
However, claimant misapprehends our decision in Landers. In Landers, the claim was for “Authorization for surgery by Dr. Ronald Lakusiewicz; continuing temporary total disability after said surgery; hospital expenses for said surgery; and any and all related medical expenses ...” This court allowed a fee reasoning that the inclusion of a claim for “continuing temporary total disability benefits after said surgery” was part of claimant’s essential medical care and did not disqualify the claim under Section 440.34(2)(a). In this case, claimant filed a separate claim for temporary total disability benefits to begin January 12, 1981, a date which preceded his hospitalization and surgery for which a separate claim for medical benefits was filed. Hence it cannot be said that the claim for temporary total disability was part of claimant’s essential medical care. See, Gunn’s Quality Glass v. Strode, 425 So. 2d 73 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982), opinion filed December 16, 1982.
Accordingly, that portion of the deputy’s order awarding attorney’s fees is REVERSED.
ERVIN and SHIVERS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Four Quarters Habitat, Inc. v. Miller, 405 So. 2d 475 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)
- Kane v. State, 425 So. 2d 73 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)
- Landers Constr. & Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Lanny Delauder, 417 So. 2d 989 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)