ELISA CALLEYRO, APPELLANT,
v.
MT. SINAI MEDICAL CENTER AND GATES MCDONALD, APPELLEES

Fla. 1st DCA | 1989-12-29
No. 89-1134
JOANOS and THOMPSON, JJ., concur.
554 So. 2d 1208 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1989) Positive Treatment
Cited by 8 cases

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Holding

The court held that surveillance evidence was properly admitted for impeachment and that there was an adequate basis for terminating attendant care benefits, but erred in denying benefits prior to the formal claim date when evidence showed the employer had notice of the need.


Headnotes

[1] Impeachment witnesses need not be revealed on a pretrial witness list in workers' compensation proceedings, pursuant to Rule 4.100(a)(5), Workers' Compensation Rules of P…

[2] The admission of undisclosed impeachment evidence is not an abuse of discretion if there is no showing of unfair surprise or prejudice.

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Facts & Procedural History

Claimant appealed an order awarding attendant care benefits for a limited period following a compensable injury. The employer/carrier presented survei…

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Opinion of the Court
WENTWORTH, Judge.

WENTWORTH, Judge.

Claimant appeals a workers’ compensation order by which attendant care benefits were awarded for a limited period. We find that employer/carrier’s surveillance evidence was properly received as impeachment evidence and that there is an adequate evidentiary predicate for terminating the attendant care benefits. However, we find that there was also an adequate predicate for an award of such benefits prior to the date of formal claim. This evidence, indicating that employer/carrier was no notice as to the prior need for attendant care, is not discussed in the challenged order which declines to award such benefits prior to the date of claim, and we reverse the order in this regard.

Claimant sustained an injury which was stipulated as compensable after a prior appeal to this court in Calleyro v. Mt. Sinai Hospital, 504 So. 2d 1336 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987).

Various psychiatrists treated claimant for psychiatric problems related to her initial injury. These psychiatrists generally substantiated claimant’s need for attendant care in connection with certain daily activities. The need for such care was also indicated in the testimony of claimant and her adult daughter. Employer/carrier presented surveillance evidence obtained by a private investigator. This evidence was somewhat inconsistent with claimant's described activities, and was submitted as impeachment evidence over claimant’s objection. Claimant contended that the evidence should be excluded because the witness was not re vealed on the pretrial witness list. But Rule 4.100(a)(5), Workers’ Compensation Rules of Procedure, which authorizes certain pretrial procedures encompassing the identification of witnesses, expressly provides that “impeachment witnesses, and rebuttal witnesses thereto, need not be revealed.” In accordance with Rule 4.100(a)(5), the admission of such evidence without pretrial disclosure has been approved in cases such as Gray Truck Line Co. v. Robbins, 476 So. 2d 1378 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985), and Mobley v. Fulford Van & Storage, 390 So. 2d 426 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980).

While Binger v. King Pest Control, 401 So. 2d 1310 (Fla.1981), purports to reject any distinction between impeachment or rebuttal witnesses and other witnesses with regard to pretrial disclosure in civil proceedings, workers’ compensation proceedings are governed by the explicit provisions of Rule 4.100(a)(5).

Indeed, Binger acknowledges that even in the civil forum disclosure requirements may vary with local rules and customs, and the decision to admit the testimony of a nondisclosed witness is a matter within the discretion of the trial judge. Both Binger and Robbins also recognize that in certain situations the testimony of a nondisclosed witness may present unfair surprise and prejudice. Although the existence of the surveillance evidence was not known to claimant prior to the hearing in the present case, there has not been any showing of unfair surprise or prejudice, and the admission of such evidence was in accordance with Rule 4.100(a)(5) and was not an abuse of discretion.

The judge relied upon both the surveillance evidence and the testimony of an examining physician in terminating attendant care as of the date of the physician’s examination, and we conclude that the judge could construe such evidence as indicating that attendant care is no longer needed. In awarding attendant care prior to the date of examination the judge found that the other evidence established a need for attendant care continuing to the date of examination. However, the judge declined to award such care prior to the date of formal claim, suggesting that employer/carrier was not on notice of the need prior to the date of claim.1

It has been established that reimbursement for attendant care obtained pri-or to formal request may be awarded under section 440.13, Florida Statutes, where the employer was aware that the nature of an injury necessitated such care. See Walt Disney World v. Harrison, 443 So. 2d 389 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983).

In the present case the medical report and deposition of a treating psychiatrist delineated the potential need for attendant care several years prior to the date of formal claim, indicating that claimant was unable to follow medication instructions and needed “assistance” with various “activities of daily living.” There is no reference to this evidence in the challenged order, and insofar as it appears that the judge may have ignored or overlooked this evidence the order does not comport with the requirement of Vargas v. Americana of Bal Harbour, 345 So. 2d 1052 (Fla.1976), and Pierce v. Piper Aircraft Corp., 279 So. 2d 281 (Fla.1973), with regard to the necessary findings of ultimate material fact. See generally, Poorman v. Muncy & Bortle Painting, 433 So. 2d 1371 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983).

The order is reversed as to the denial of attendant care prior to the date of formal claim, and the judge should consider this matter on remand. The order is otherwise affirmed, and the cause is remanded.

JOANOS and THOMPSON, JJ., concur. . Employer/carrier’s argument as to waiver was not presented below and will not be considered on appeal. Employer/carrier also argue that the attendant care furnished by claimant’s daughter was merely a gratuitous family service. However, the service provided exceeded that normally furnished by a family member for the benefit of the household, and thus should not be deemed gratuitous. See Walt Disney World v. Harrison, 443 So. 2d 389 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). And claimant sufficiently established the quantity, quality, and duration of such service, by competent substantial evidence.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Walters v. Keebler Co. & Crawford & Co., 652 So. 2d 976 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)
    …ot pursue this theory on appeal, despite the distinction between rebuttal and other witnesses in workers’ compensation proceedings. See Bose v. Madden & McClure Grove Service, 629 So. 2d 234 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993); Calleyro v. Mt. Sinai Medical Center, 554 So. 2d 1208 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989). The claimant also argued below that the employer/carrier were not surprised by the proffered testimony, explaining that the witness was not discovered until after completion of the pretrial witness list, and that the employer/…
  • Ogden Allied Servs. & Alexsis, Inc. v. Panesso, 619 So. 2d 1024 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993)
    …her the proposed witness or the films. Florida Rule of Workers’ Compensation Procedure 4.100(a) expressly exempts from revelation at the pretrial conference impeachment and rebuttal witnesses and exhibits. E.g., Calleyro v. Mt. Sinai Medical Center, 554 So. 2d 1208 (Fla. 1st DCA1989); Mobley v. Fulford Van & Storage, 390 So. 2d 426 (Fla. 1st DCA1980). Clearly, if the employer and servicing agent would have had no legal duty to list such evidence had it existed when the pretrial stipulation was signed, they had…
  • Eaton Corp. & Gab Robins N. Am., Inc. v. Dottie Votour, 895 So. 2d 466 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005)
    …251 (10th ed.1998). Case law recognizes that the method of impeachment is not limited to the actual testimony of other witnesses, but may include extrinsic evidence, such as by the use of surveillance videotapes. See Calleyro v. Mt. Sinai Med. Ctr., 554 So. 2d 1208 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989); Rice v. Everett, 630 So. 2d 1184 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994). Extrinsic evidence for the purpose of contradicting a witness’s testimony is generally recognized as admissible unless it contradicts a fact that is collateral. See Griffin v…

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