STEPHENS TRUCKING COMPANY AND CLAIMS CENTER, APPELLANTS,
v.
JIMMIE BIBBS, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1990-10-02
No. 89-1403
BOOTH, J., concurs., WOLF, J., specially concurs, with written opinion.
569 So. 2d 490 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1990) Positive Treatment
Cited by 6 cases

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.

Synopsis

An employer/carrier appealed a workers' compensation order awarding an employee benefits for a neck injury allegedly sustained while pulling a tarpaulin over a truck. The Florida appellate court reversed and remanded because the record lacked competent, substantial evidence of causation between the workplace incident and the claimant's cervical spine injury.


Holding

The court affirmed the finding that the claimant's cervical spine injury was distinct from his pre-existing 1984 lumbar injury but reversed the causation finding because Dr. Hatt's testimony effectively negated any opinion regarding causation of neck problems, and Dr. Aung-Din's letter was not competent substantial evidence of causation since it did not establish what incident the doctor believed caused the injury. The court remanded for further evidence on causation.


Headnotes

[1] A claimant's pre-existing lumbar spine injury does not preclude a claim for a current cervical spine injury if the two conditions are distinct.

[2] A doctor's letter stating a patient is under care for a "work-related injury" is not competent, substantial evidence of causation if it does not specify the incident or t…

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Key Quotes

“the record does not support the JCC's finding that both doctors Hatt and Aung-Din opined that claimant's complaints of pain were caused by the work he had to do at Stephens Trucking.”

Establishes that the primary basis for reversal was lack of competent evidence of causation from the medical opinions.

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Facts & Procedural History

Claimant Jimmie Bibbs claimed he injured his neck on March 20, 1988, while pulling a tarpaulin over his truck while employed by Stephens Trucking. Abo…

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Opinion of the Court
SHIVERS, Chief Judge.

SHIVERS, Chief Judge.

The employer/carrier (E/C) appeal an order finding claimant’s condition compensable and awarding benefits. We reverse and remand for taking of further evidence.

Claimant filed a claim for temporary total disability, medical, and other benefits, stating that he injured his neck March 20, 1988 when he pulled a tarpaulin over his truck. The E/C controverted, contending that the injury did not arise out of the course and scope of employment.

About a month after the tarpaulin incident, claimant went to his family doctor, Dr. Hatt, complaining of back and neck pain. Dr. Hatt had previously performed lumbar surgery on claimant from a work-related injury in 1984 while working for a different employer. That claim was settled. Claimant testified that he did not tell Dr. Hatt that his pain from the instant injury was job-related because he did not realize it then. Dr. Hatt testified that he concentrated on claimant’s lumbar region instead of his neck and that he did not recall any details about claimant’s neck.

Dr. Hatt referred claimant to Dr. Aung-Din, a neurologist, who diagnosed claimant as having moderately severe, degenerative changes at C4, G5 and C6, and Dr. Aung-Din concluded that claimant had cervical spondylitic radiculopathy. He also treated claimant for his back pain. On June 3, 1988 Dr. Aung-Din wrote a letter “to whom it may concern” indicating that claimant was under his care for “a work-related injury” and was suffering from neck problems. However, Dr. Aung-Din testified by deposition that claimant did not tell him about the tarpaulin incident; claimant told him about the 1984 accident. He said claimant considered his symptoms to be exacerbated by the prolonged sitting, standing and bending required by truck driving. During his deposition, Dr. Aung-Din was not asked and did not testify regarding whether he believed there existed a causal relationship between claimant’s symptomatology and any work-related incidents or conditions.

We affirm the judge of compensation claims’ (JCC’s) finding that claimant’s “complaints are not due to a pre-existing injury since it is clear from the record that his pre-existing injury was to his lumbar spine. The current injury is to his cervical spine.”

However, the record does not support the JCC’s finding that both doctors Hatt and Aung-Din opined that claimant’s complaints of pain were caused by the work he had to do at Stephens Trucking. The claim and award in this case were premised on an injury to claimant’s neck. Dr. Hatt’s testimony that he did not concentrate on claimant’s neck effectively vitiates any opinion he might have had regarding causation of claimant’s neck problems.

As to Dr. Aung-Din, the JCC referred to Dr. Aung-Din’s letter in which he indicated that claimant was under his care for a work-related injury. The letter does not indicate, however, whether Dr. Aung-Din knew about the tarpaulin incident, or what particular incident he believed caused claimant’s neck problems. As a result, the letter is not competent, substantial evidence in support of the causation finding. On the other hand, the letter does not rule out the possibility that Dr. Aung-Din may have been referring to a work-related incident or condition, separate from the 1984 injury, that he considered to be the cause of claimant’s neck problems. Since there is no competent, substantial evidence of causation present on this record, we reverse the awards that rested on that finding. However, we do not visit outright reversal on claimant because Dr. Aung-Din’s letter creates a doubt in claimant’s favor. We thus remand to the JCC for taking of further evidence on the issue of causation.

REVERSED and REMANDED.

BOOTH, J., concurs.

WOLF, J., specially concurs, with written opinion.

Concurrence
WOLF, Judge,

WOLF, Judge,

specially concurring:

I agree that there is no competent substantial evidence of causation on the record. The claimant had a full opportunity to present evidence to support his claim and failed to do so. I, therefore, disagree that further evidence should be taken on the issue of causation, and would simply reverse and remand with instructions to enter an order consistent with this opinion. See City of Winter Springs v. Lane, 386 So. 2d 802 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980).

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Citator

Cited By

  • Gator Indus., Inc. v. Recol Neus, 585 So. 2d 1174 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)
    …g temporary partial disability benefits, wage loss, and bad faith attorney fees. We remand the case for a further hearing on the issue of causation and, accordingly do not dispose of the other issues at this time. See Stephens Trucking Co. v. Bibbs, 569 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990) (remanding for taking of further evidence on the issue of causation where there is no competent substantial evidence of causation in the record but doctor’s letter creates a doubt in claimant’s favor). Claimant, a native of Hait…
  • Stephens Trucking Co. & Claims Ctr. v. Bibbs, 605 So. 2d 1023 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)
    …arrier, appeal the judge of compensation claims’ order finding appellee’s cervical spine condition com-pensable and awarding temporary total disability and medical benefits as well as attorney’s fees. We reverse. In Stephens Trucking Co. v. Bibbs, 569 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990), this court reversed the judge of compensation claims’ initial award of benefits in this case and remanded for the taking of further evidence on the issue of causation. Upon remand, the only additional evidence offered was a seco…
  • Escambia Cnty. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs v. Reeder, 648 So. 2d 222 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)
    …al accident must be shown by competent substantial evidence. § 440.02(1) & (17), Fla. Stat. (1991) (defining “accident” and “injury,” respectively); Gator Industries, Inc. v. Neus, 585 So. 2d 1174 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991); Stephens Trucking Co. v. Bibbs, 569 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990). Claimant met his burden on that issue, and the accident was found to be compensable. Given the fact that Claimant had knowingly refused to wear a safety belt at the time of the accident, Employer, by raising the statutory partia…

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