HAYWARD TRUCKING, INC., AND NATIONWIDE INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLANTS,
v.
AETNA INSURANCE COMPANY AND CLIFFORD A. JOYNER, APPELLEES

Fla. 1st DCA | 1984-02-13
No. AT-180
SHIVERS and JOANOS, JJ., concur.
445 So. 2d 385 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1984) Negative Treatment
Cited by 24 cases

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Synopsis

Hayward Trucking and its workers' compensation insurer Nationwide appealed a deputy commissioner's order requiring Nationwide to reimburse Aetna Insurance for benefits paid to a claimant following a second back injury. The court reversed, holding that Aetna, as the carrier at the time of the second accident, bears responsibility for the claimant's temporary disability and medical benefits, with potential apportionment of permanency once maximum medical improvement is reached.


Holding

Aetna, not Nationwide, is responsible for the claimant's temporary disability and medical benefits subsequent to the May 24, 1982 accident. The second incident constituted at most a temporary aggravation of a pre-existing condition for which Aetna, as the carrier in effect at that time, must provide benefits. Once the claimant attains maximum medical improvement, the deputy commissioner may apportion any resulting permanency between the two carriers according to their respective responsibilities.


Headnotes

[1] A workers' compensation carrier at the time of a second incident is responsible for temporary disability and medical benefits subsequent to that incident, even if it invo…

[2] A workers' compensation carrier is not responsible for reimbursing another carrier for benefits paid after the second incident when the second incident is deemed a tempor…

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Key Quotes

“the May 24,1982 'incident constituted, at most, a temporary aggravation of the [claimant's] pre-existing condition.'”

The deputy commissioner's characterization of the second accident, which the appellate court used as the basis for determining carrier liability.

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Facts & Procedural History

A claimant employed by Hayward Trucking sustained a compensable back injury on September 15, 1981, while changing a tire and was diagnosed with right …

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Opinion of the Court
THOMPSON, Judge.

THOMPSON, Judge.

Nationwide Insurance Company (Nationwide) and Hayward Trucking, Inc. (Hayward) appeal a workers’ compensation order requiring Nationwide, inter alia, to reimburse appellee-Aetna Insurance Company (Aetna) for all benefits it paid to claimant subsequent to May 25, 1982, to institute temporary total disability (TTD) benefits to claimant as of January 31, 1983, and to provide claimant with appropriate medical benefits. We reverse.

Claimant, a driver and general maintenance man for Hayward, sustained a compensable back injury on September 15, 1981, while changing a tire. On September 17, 1981, claimant was seen by Dr. Koer-ner, an osteopath, who diagnosed “right shoulder bursitis, left sciatic neuritis, a lumbar strain” and the possibility of a herniated disc. Claimant returned to work for Hayward, although he said he was still having trouble with his leg. He continued driving a truck, but using the clutch particularly bothered him. He tried to stay away from changing tires and sweeping. Nationwide was Hayward’s workers’ compensation carrier at the time of this accident.

Claimant continued working for Hayward, with the exception of days which he occasionally missed because of back trouble, until May 24, 1982, when he experienced pain in his low back, hip, and leg while he and a co-worker were changing a tire. Aetna was Hayward’s workers’ compensation carrier in May 1982. Dr. Jones, an orthopedic surgeon who saw claimant following the second accident, stated in his deposition that “the second set of symptoms or the second incident or accident or whatever you want to call it, was simply a reinjury of a pre-existing old one.”

After a claim for benefits was filed, Aet-na took the position that claimant’s back injury was the result of the September 15, 1981 accident, and that Nationwide was solely responsible to claimant for any benefits.

Accordingly, Aetna sought reimbursement from Nationwide for benefits paid to claimant. Nationwide took the position that claimant’s back injury was the result of the second accident and that Aet-na was solely responsible for any benefits. The deputy commissioner (deputy) found that the May 24,1982 “incident constituted, at most, a temporary aggravation of the [claimant’s] pre-existing condition.” The deputy further found that claimant was entitled to TTD from May 24, 1982 and continuing and that Aetna was entitled to reimbursement from Nationwide for benefits paid to or on claimant’s behalf since September 9, 1982, the date Aetna informed Nationwide of its potential liability.

However, we note that the decretal portion of the order requires Nationwide to reimburse Aetna for all benefits paid to and on claimant’s behalf subsequent to May 25, 1982.

Under the circumstances Aetna, not Nationwide, is responsible for claimant’s temporary disability and medical benefits sub sequent to the second accident. Following the first accident claimant was able to return to his former position, although he indicated he avoided sweeping and changing tires and that he experienced pain. Although he sought medical treatment for dehydration between the time he saw Dr. Koerner on September 17, 1981, and the time of the May 24, 1982 accident, it does not appear that claimant sought medical treatment for his back during this time. At the time of the hearing there was no indication that claimant had reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) from the second accident.

Accordingly, the deputy erred in requiring Nationwide to reimburse Aetna for the temporary disability and medical benefits paid to claimant subsequent to the May 24, 1982 accident. Likewise the finding that Nationwide is responsible for claimant’s attorney’s fees and costs for obtaining TTD benefits and medical treatment is erroneous.

Once claimant attains MMI, the deputy may properly be requested to apportion any permanency claimant may have between Nationwide and Aetna, according to their respective responsibilities. The order appealed is REVERSED and REMANDED for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

SHIVERS and JOANOS, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By (11 total)

  • …e carriers because claimant’s present condition was caused by a combination of her original accident and her subsequent compensable accident. Flagship appeals the final order and urges reversal, citing Hayward Trucking, Inc. v. Aetna Insurance Co., 445 So. 2d 385 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984), and Structural Systems, Inc. v. Worthen, 463 So. 2d 502 (Fla. [*830] 1st DCA 1985), for the proposition that the deputy is prohibited by section 440.15(5)(a), Florida Statutes (1983), from apportioning medical benefits between t…
    1 / 2
  • Structural Sys., Inc. v. Worthen, 463 So. 2d 502 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985)
    …om the prior accident, any temporary disability benefits and remedial medical treatment occasioned by the 1983 accident are the responsibility of the carrier at the time of that second accident. See Hayward Trucking, Inc. v. Aetna Insurance Company, 445 So. 2d 385 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). There are several earlier cases that permitted the apportionment of medical benefits. See Neff v. Britto, 404 So. 2d 416 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981); Bell Rentals and Sales v. Harvey, 405 So. 2d 289 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). However, all of…
    1 / 2
  • Cruise Quality Painting & Cigna Ins. Cos. v. Paige, 564 So. 2d 1190 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990)
    …ent from the subsequent accident. See City of Melbourne v. Haddock, 533 So. 2d 301 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); Florida Insurance Guaranty Association v. Fibercon Industries, 491 So. 2d 566 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986); Hayward Trucking, Inc. v. Aetna Insurance Co., 445 So. 2d 385 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984), and after remand, 466 So. 2d 437 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985). In response, Tire Kingdom points to our decision in Flagship National Bank of Broward County v. Hinkle, 479 So. 2d 828 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985), on which the judge relied in makin…

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