MORRIS ALAN GOODMAN, APPELLANT,
v.
ROMA CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC., APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Officer Goodman sued Roma Construction Company for injuries sustained when he slipped on gravel at a construction site, resulting in amputation of his leg below the knee. The Florida appellate court reversed a $500,000 damages judgment and remanded for new trial because the defendant improperly introduced evidence of the plaintiff's workers' compensation benefits, which prejudiced the jury against awarding full damages.
The court held that admission of evidence regarding an injured plaintiff's workers' compensation benefits constitutes prejudicial error, and that curative instructions must be given when such evidence is presented. A new trial on damages is required because neither collateral source instructions nor appropriate curative instructions were provided.
[1] Introducing evidence of a plaintiff's receipt of workers' compensation benefits to the jury is prejudicial error.
[2] A defendant's repeated references to a plaintiff's workers' compensation records, even when objected to, constitute reversible error.
Previewing 2 of 4 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“It has long been held, to bring information before the jury as to an injured plaintiff's right to workers' compensation benefits constitutes prejudicial error because such information presumably influences the jury against the plaintiff.”
Establishes the core legal principle that workers' compensation evidence is inherently prejudicial to plaintiffs
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOfficer Morris Goodman slipped on gravel while exiting his police car at a Roma construction site and suffered a severely twisted leg requiring amputa…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Collateral Source Rule cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Officer Morris Goodman slipped on gravel as he exited his police car at a Roma construction site. Despite heroic medical efforts, his badly twisted leg required amputation below the knee. Suit was filed against Roma Construction Company claiming Goodman’s severe bodily injuries were the direct and proximate result of his fall on Roma’s construction debris. A default judgment was entered against Roma for failing to respond to the complaint and the case proceeded to trial on the issue of damages. Although several issues were raised by the subsequent appeal, we focus upon that issue which constitutes reversible error. Because Officer Goodman was acting within the scope of his duties at the time of injury, the Metropolitan-Dade County Police Department properly filed a workers’ compensation lien which claimed the right to reimbursement for all past medical expenses and lost earnings benefits paid to Goodman and for all benefits to be paid in the future. Throughout the course of the trial, over Goodman’s continued objections, Roma made repeated references to appellant’s workers’ compensation records, and was permitted to introduce departmental injury reports, enlargements of workers’ compensation forms, as well as Goodman’s income tax returns for the two years following the accident. Each clearly reflected Goodman’s receipt of full workers’ compensation benefits. During the charge confer ence, Goodman requested, inter alia, Collateral Source Instruction 6.13, Florida Standard Jury Instructions. The instruction was denied. The jury returned a verdict for $500,000—$88,108.83 less than Goodman’s medical expenses and lost earnings amounted to at time of trial.
It has long been held, to bring information before the jury as to an injured plaintiff’s right to workers’ compensation benefits constitutes prejudicial error because such information presumably influences the jury against the plaintiff. Cook v. Eney, 277 So. 2d 848 (Fla. 3d DCA), cert. denied, 285 So. 2d 414 (Fla.1973); accord Winston Towers 100 Ass’n v. De Carlo, 481 So. 2d 1261 (Fla. 3d DCA), cause dismissed, 488 So. 2d 832 (Fla.1986); Skislak v. Wilson, 472 So. 2d 776 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985); Grossman v. Beard, 410 So. 2d 175 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982); Williams v. Pincombe, 309 So. 2d 10 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975); Paradis v. Thomas, 150 So. 2d 457 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963). As requested by Goodman during trial, collateral source references and materials should have been stricken as each was presented and the jury immediately given a curative instruction to disregard it. Because neither collateral source nor appropriate curative instructions were given, prejudicial error is presumed and a new trial on damages is required. Sosa v. Knight-Ridder Newspapers, 435 So. 2d 821 (Fla.1983); Kreitz v. Thomas, 422 So. 2d 1051 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982); Freeman v. Rubin, 318 So. 2d 540 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975); Seminole Shell Co. v. Clearwater Flying Co., 156 So. 2d 543 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963); see Carls Markets v. Meyer, 69 So. 2d 789 (Fla.1953); Porto v. Khan, 242 So. 2d 174 (Fla. 1st DCA 1970); Crowell v. Fink, 167 So. 2d 614 (Fla. 1st DCA 1964); Greyhound Corp. v. Ford, 157 So. 2d 427 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963).
Accordingly, the judgment appealed from is reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Calloway v. Dania JAI Alai Palace, Inc., 560 So. 2d 808 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990)…e order taxing costs against Calloway. The trial court was mistaken when it refused to give the collateral source rule jury instruction after evidence of collateral source benefits was submitted at trial. Goodman v. Roma Construction Company, Inc., 537 So. 2d 597 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988), rev. denied, 544 So. 2d 200 (Fla.1989). Because it was Calloway who introduced over $15,000 in medical bills, many of which contained references to her private insurance carrier or to insurance in general, the trial court refused…
-
Roma Constr. Co., Inc. v. Goodman, 557 So. 2d 58 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)…in allowing reference to collateral sources and in the adequacy of the jury verdict. This court found reversible error in the admission of the collateral source information and reversed for a new trial on damages. Goodman v. Roma Constr. Co., Inc., 537 So. 2d 597 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988), review denied, 544 So. 2d 200 (Fla.1989). Upon remand, the trial court granted Goodman’s motion to limit the issue at trial to the amount of damages suffered, and declined to permit any testimony as to medical causation. We quash…1 / 2
-
Gormley v. GTE Prods. Corp., 549 So. 2d 729 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)…ns no criticism of the soundness of this determination. In fact, its correctness is supported by: (a) A long series of decisions of this court which cite, rely upon and follow Cook, culminating in the very recent case of Goodman v. Roma Const. Co., 537 So. 2d 597 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988), review denied, 544 So. 2d 200 (Fla. 1989); accord Winston Towers 100 Ass’n v. De Carlo, 481 So. 2d 1261 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986), cause dismissed, 488 So. 2d 832 (Fla.1986); Skislak v. Wilson, 472 So. 2d 776 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985); Miami B…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited (18 total)
- Carls Mkts., Inc. v. Meyer, 69 So. 2d 789 (Fla. 1953)
- Paradis v. Thomas, 150 So. 2d 457 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963)
- The Greyhound Corp. v. Sudella Ford, 157 So. 2d 427 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963)
- Cook v. Irving P. Eney, M.D., 277 So. 2d 848 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973)
- Starr Freeman v. Ellis Rubin, 318 So. 2d 540 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975)
- Seminole Shell Co., Inc. v. Clearwater Flying Co., Inc., 156 So. 2d 543 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963)
- Williams v. Pincombe, 309 So. 2d 10 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975)
- State v. Cabe, 435 So. 2d 821 (Fla. 1983)
- Sosa v. Knight-Ridder Newspapers, Inc., 435 So. 2d 821 (Fla. 1983)
- Kreitz v. Thomas, 422 So. 2d 1051 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)