GAINESVILLE COCA-COLA AND GENERAL ACCIDENT BUREAU, APPELLANTS,
v.
EDWARD E. YOUNG, APPELLEE
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This workers' compensation appeal addresses whether an employee injured at a Coca-Cola bottling plant is entitled to wage-loss benefits and reimbursement for vocational retraining. The court reversed and remanded because the judge of compensation claims failed to explain why he accepted one physician's 1% impairment rating over other opinions of 0% impairment, and failed to provide specific documentation for the retraining reimbursement.
The court reversed the wage-loss award because the JCC did not explain his reasons for accepting the 1% impairment rating over conflicting testimony of 0% impairment, requiring remand for proper findings. The court also reversed the reimbursement award for insufficient documentation of specific amounts spent, requiring remand for an award based on specific reliable documentation.
[1] A permanent impairment rating is a prerequisite to an injured worker's claim for wage-loss benefits.
[2] A judge of compensation claims may accept the testimony of one physician over that of several others when resolving evidentiary conflicts.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“permanent impairment rating, not the existence of physician-imposed restrictions, is prerequisite to wage-loss claim”
Establishes that wage-loss benefits under section 440.15(3)(b) require a permanent impairment rating as a matter of law
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOn March 27, 1987, claimant was injured when an elevator door closed on his hand while working as a route salesman for Coca-Cola. Multiple physicians …
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SHIVERS, Judge.
The employer/carrier (e/c) appeal from an Amended Order awarding wage-loss benefits to claimant for the period June 1, 1989 through February 25, 1990, and ordering the e/c to reimburse claimant for expenditures not to exceed $3,000 representing monies to be repaid for his attendance at the Roffler Hair Design College. We reverse the Amended Order and remand for additional findings concerning the wage-loss award, see Curry v. Miami Dolphins, Ltd., 522 So. 2d 1010 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988), and for a showing of specific documentation to support the reimbursement provision.
On March 27, 1987, while a route salesman for Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Gainesville, claimant was injured when the door of a freight elevator closed on his hand. About 2½ weeks after the injury, Dr. Brill released claimant to light-duty work. Claimant’s complaints of pain in the right upper extremity persisted and he came under the care of Drs. Ramadan and Aird. Aird released claimant to light-duty work subject to certain restrictions that involved wearing a wrist splint, and avoiding repetitive flexing and extension movements of the right wrist and heavy lifting with the right hand. Aird and Ramadan reported that claimant reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) with a 0% impairment rating as of July 31, 1988. Aird did not mention any permanent restrictions when he wrote the attorney for the e/c on July 26, 1988.
Due to claimant’s ongoing complaints of pain, he was sent to Dr. Borrerro for evaluation in August 1988. Borrerro determined that claimant continued to have an extreme and “unexplained pain in the entire right upper extremity.” Having found no evidence of serious illness or disease in the affected area, the doctor opined that claimant’s main problem with pain was “entirely subjective” and involved the tolerance and acceptance of pain. Dr. Borrerro assigned a 1% impairment rating to the body as a whole pursuant to the AMA Guides. Cf. Morrison & Knudsen/American Bridge Div. and CNA v. Scott, 423 So. 2d 463 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982) (error to award wage-loss benefits based on permanent impairment rating not determined in accordance with AMA Guides pursuant to section 440.-15(3)(a), F.S.) The evidence supporting the 1% impairment rating was not based solely on claimant’s verbal complaints. Test results demonstrated a disparity in grip strength between claimant’s left hand (110) and the injured right hand (85).
Section 440.15(3)(b), Florida Statutes (1986 Supp.), governs wage-loss benefits for an “injured worker who suffers any permanent impairment.” See Davis v. Broward County Health Dep’t, 570 So. 2d 371 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990) (permanent impairment rating, not the existence of physician-imposed restrictions, is prerequisite to wage-loss claim). In determining credibility and resolving evidentiary conflicts, the judge of compensation claims (JCC) may accept the testimony of one physician over that of several others. Curry, 522 So. 2d at 1011; Jefferson Stores, Inc. v. Rosenfeld, 386 So. 2d 865 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980). Generally, no explanation need be given when some medical testimony is accepted and other testimony rejected. Buro v. Dino’s Southland Meats, 354 So. 2d 874 (Fla.1978). The Amended Order is deficient, however, in that the JCC’s reason for accepting Borr-erro’s 1% impairment rating, in the face of other medical testimony of a 0% rating, is not apparent from the record. Keener Constr. Co. v. Simpson, 578 So. 2d 1137 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991); Curry, 522 So. 2d at 1011-12; Allied Parcel Delivery v. Dixon, 466 So. 2d 439 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985).
As to the reimbursement requirement, we find there is insufficient documentation of a specific amount spent by claimant. The Amended Order is reversed, and the cause remanded, for the JCC to state reasons for accepting the 1% impairment rating in accordance with the requirements of Curry and to base any reimbursement award on specific reliable documentation showing the amounts spent by claimant for retraining.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
WOLF and WEBSTER, JJ., concur.
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Gainesville Coca-Cola & Gen. Adjustment Bureau v. Young, 632 So. 2d 83 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993)…e order. This court has previously reversed this case and remanded it for the JCC to state its reasons for selecting the IME doctor over the treating physicians because the reasons were not apparent from the record. Gainesville Coca-Cola v. Young, 596 So. 2d 1278 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). None of the reasons stated by the JCC on remand was supported by competent substantial evidence. See Curry v. Miami Dolphins, Ltd., 522 So. 2d 1010 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988) (JCC’s discretion is not unbridled; JCC must give adequate r…
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Elva Chavarria v. Selugal Clothing, Inc., 840 So. 2d 1071 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003)…So. 2d 1167, 1170 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992), we stated, “[ajlthough the JCC is authorized to accept the testimony of one doctor over that of others, he must give reasons therefor that are supported by the record.” See also Gainesville Coca-Cola v. Young, 596 So. 2d 1278, 1279 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). Another line of cases, following Rosenfeld, at least acknowledged, quite correctly, the “ignore or overlook” formulation developed by the supreme court. In Finkel v. Enterprise Building Corp., 427 So. 2d 1084, 1085 (Fla.…
Authorities Cited
- Emory Curry v. Miami Dolphins, Ltd., 522 So. 2d 1010 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)
- Jefferson Stores, Inc. v. Rosenfeld, 386 So. 2d 865 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980)
- Buro v. Ding's Southland Meats, 354 So. 2d 874 (Fla. 1978)
- Allied Parcel Delivery & CNA Ins. Co. v. Dixon, 466 So. 2d 439 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985)
- Earnese Davis v. Broward Cnty. Health Dep't, 570 So. 2d 371 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990)
- Morrison & Knudsen/American Bridge Div. & CNA Ins. Grp. v. Scott, 423 So. 2d 463 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)
- Bacon v. State, 578 So. 2d 1137 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)
- Keener Constr. Co. & Cincinnati Ins. v. Simpson, 578 So. 2d 1137 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)