NORRIS COLEMAN, APPELLANT,
v.
CHAMPION INTERNATIONAL INC. AND AETNA CASUALTY & SURETY CO., APPELLEES
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Coleman appealed a denial of temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits after he was medically cleared to return to full work capacity. The court reversed, holding that an employer/carrier cannot deny benefits for failure to conduct a job search when it failed to inform the claimant of this obligation.
An employee is not required to conduct a work search as a prerequisite to receiving benefits when the employer/carrier fails to advise the claimant of this obligation, regardless of the employee's knowledge that the treating physician has released him to full activity. The workers' compensation system is employer/carrier monitored, not doctor monitored.
[1] An employer/carrier's failure to advise a claimant of their obligation to perform a work search precludes the employer/carrier from asserting a voluntary limitation of in…
[2] A claimant's knowledge that a treating physician has released them to full activity does not negate the employer/carrier's duty to inform the claimant of their work searc…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“It is well-settled that a work search is not a prerequisite to receipt of benefits where the employer/carrier fail to advise the claimant of his obligation to perform a work search.”
Establishes the key legal principle that employer/carrier has duty to inform claimant of work search requirement
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceColeman was working two full-time jobs when he injured his hand on August 8, 1986, while employed by Champion International. He returned to his custod…
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JOANOS, Judge.
Norris Coleman has appealed from an order of a Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) denying in part his claim for temporary partial disability benefits. We reverse.
Coleman was working two full-time jobs at the time he was injured, as a school custodian and as a laborer for Champion International (Champion).
On August 8, 1986, he injured his hand during his employment with Champion. Coleman returned to work on September 9, 1986, but only with the school. He remained in this employment posture until October 13,1986, when his doctor returned him to full activity. Although he continued his custodial work after October 13, Coleman did not thereafter return to work for Champion, nor seek a second job elsewhere. It is undisputed that, at the time Coleman was medically released to full activity, Champion did not inform him of his obligation to perform a job search and submit wage-loss forms to preserve his eligibility for benefits. Champion had ceased paying benefits when Coleman returned to the custodial job. The JCC held him entitled to Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits from September 9 to September 16, 1986, and to Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) benefits thereafter until October 13, 1986, finding that his employment during this period was sheltered, and that there was therefore no voluntary limitation of income.
However, the JCC went on to find that Coleman’s failure either to return to work for Champion, or look for another second job, after the October 13 medical release to full activity, constituted a voluntary limitation of income. TPD benefits were therefore denied after that date.
It is well-settled that a work search is not a prerequisite to receipt of benefits where the employer/carrier fail to advise the claimant of his obligation to perform a work search. Ninia v. Southwest Bottlers, 547 So. 2d 966 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989). This is true despite the employee’s knowledge that the treating physician has released him to full activity. See Griffith v. McDonald’s, 526 So. 2d 1032 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988) (the workers’ compensation system is an employer/carrier monitored system, not a doctor monitored system). We therefore reverse the denial of benefits for the period October 13, 1986, to May 18, 1987, and remand for an award of benefits for that period.
WENTWORTH and THOMPSON, JJ., concur.
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Nickolls v. Univ. OF Fla. & Div. of Risk Mgmt., 606 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)…. 1st DCA 1991); Pan American World Airways v. Mash, 573 So. 2d 383 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991); Scott v. Container Corp. of Am., 559 So. 2d 399 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990); Parker v. Eaton Corp., 554 So. 2d 644 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989); Coleman v. Champion Int'l, Inc., 552 So. 2d 1196 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989); Mackin v. Olde World Cheese Shop, 536 So. 2d 301 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); Rios v. Fred Teitelbaum Constr., 522 So. 2d 1015 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); Coq v. Fuchs Baking Co., 507 So. 2d 138 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); Morris v. Metal Indus., 491…
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PAN Am. World Airways & GAB Bus. Servs., Inc. v. Mash, 573 So. 2d 383 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)…, 1987 forward. The next issue is whether the judge could lawfully award TPD benefits from August 12, 1987 to the date of MMI, and wage-loss benefits thereafter. The E/SA concede that this court’s holding in Coleman v. Champion International, Inc., 552 So. 2d 1196, 1197 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989), [*385] would allow such an award. In Coleman, this court held that the performance of a work search is not a prerequisite to the receipt of benefits if the employer fails to advise the claimant of his obligation to perform…
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City OF Miami v. Jacoby, 599 So. 2d 171 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)…734 (Fla. 1st DCA1991); Pan Am. World Airways v. Mash, 573 So. 2d 383 (Fla. 1st DCA1991); Scott v. Container Corp. of Am., 559 So. 2d 399 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990); Parker v. Eaton Corp., 554 So. 2d 644 (Fla. 1st DCA1989); Coleman v. Champion Int’l Inc., 552 So. 2d 1196 (Fla. 1st DCA1989); Mackin v. Olde World Cheese Shop, 536 So. 2d 301 (Fla. 1st DCA1988); Rios v. Fred Teitelbaum Constr., 522 So. 2d 1015 (Fla. 1st DCA1988); Coq v. Fuchs Baking Co., 507 So. 2d 138 (Fla. 1st DCA1987); Morris v. Metal Indus., 491 So.…
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
- Griffith v. McDONALDS & Kemper Grp., 526 So. 2d 1032 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)
- Ninia v. Sw. Bottlers & Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 547 So. 2d 966 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989)