JENNY ZYAK, APPELLANT,
v.
WENDY'S AND ASSOCIATED INDUSTRIES, APPELLEES
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Jenny Zyak appeals a workers' compensation order denying her wage loss claim due to untimely filing of wage loss forms. The court holds that because the employer/carrier failed to properly inform her of the filing deadline, benefits may be awarded despite the late submission, and remands for reconsideration.
The court held that when an employer/carrier has not fully advised a claimant of the wage loss filing obligation, benefits may be awarded despite untimely filing. The employer/carrier's informational letters were deficient because they referenced an outdated filing deadline, failed to comply with administrative rule requirements, and provided incomplete or misleading information given the claimant's actual circumstances.
[1] A workers' compensation claimant may be awarded wage loss benefits despite an untimely filing if the employer/carrier failed to fully advise the claimant of the filing ob…
[2] An employer/carrier's informational letters to a workers' compensation claimant must accurately reflect the current statutory requirements and the claimant's specific cir…
Previewing 2 of 5 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“when an employer/carrier has not fully advised the claimant as to this obligation, benefits may be awarded despite an untimely filing”
Establishes the main holding that proper notice can override the statutory filing deadline requirement
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceZyak was injured and filed a workers' compensation claim. The employer/carrier sent her two informational letters during the relevant period, but the …
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ALLEN, Judge.
The claimant appeals a workers’ compensation order by which a wage loss claim was denied for periods after the effective date of section 440.15(3)(b)2, Florida Statutes (Supp.1990), due to a failure to timely file wage loss forms. Because the employer/carrier did not properly inform the claimant of this obligation, the judge should not have applied the statutory filing time so as to preclude an award of benefits.
Section 440.15(3)(b)2 specifies the time during which wage loss forms should be submitted, and generally precludes a wage loss award in connection with an untimely filing. However, when an employer/carrier has not fully advised the claimant as to this obligation, benefits may be awarded despite an untimely filing. E.g. Gall Silica Mining v. Sheffield, 401 So. 2d 1169 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). The further provision in section 440.15(3)(b)2 establishing that a claimant will still be required to comply with job search obligations upon being advised by an attorney is not implicated in the present case, as the claimant was engaged in full-time employment and there is no indication that anyone informed the then-unrepresented claimant of the statutory time for filing wage loss requests.
The employer/carrier sent the claimant two informational letters during the pertinent period, but the first of these letters referred to a different filing time which applied before section 440.15(3)(b)2 became effective. And this letter did not otherwise fully comport with the informational statement mandated by Florida Administrative Code Rule 38F-3.018(2). In addition, the letters implied that a job search would be necessary, and this was not entirely accurate as the claimant had already obtained appropriate full-time employment. While the job search language comports with the minimum statement contained in rule 38F-3.018(2), this does not fully discharge the employer/earrier’s informational burden when the circumstances render such information incomplete or misleading. See Gall Silica Mining.
The second informational letter contained some of the same deficits as the first letter, and addressed only temporary disability benefits even though the claimant had attained permanent disability status more than two years earlier. While the employer/carrier assert that the claimant might have initiated further inquiry to obtain additional information, it is the employer/carrier’s responsibility to monitor the claimant’s status and provide the necessary information regarding the conditions and requirements affecting the claimant’s entitlement to benefits. Wood v. McTyre Trucking Co., 526 So. 2d 739 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988).
The appealed order is reversed and the case is remanded.
BARFIELD, J., and SMITH, Senior Judge, concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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Gacita v. Holiday INN & Zurich Am. Ins. Grp., 734 So. 2d 1049 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998)…ich the E/C failed to do in the case at bar. Instead, the E/C sent this letter immediately after Gacita’s accident, and then failed to send her a timely informational letter the following year, when she had in fact become TPD. As in Zyak v. Wendy’s, 659 So. 2d 1299, 1300 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995), a carrier does not fulfil its duty under the rule by sending such a letter “when the circumstances render such information incomplete or misleading.” Following Zyak, we conclude that the claimant must be excused from faili…
Authorities Cited
- Wood v. McTYRE Trucking Co., Inc., 526 So. 2d 739 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)
- Jones v. State, 401 So. 2d 1169 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981)
- Lessie May Cooper v. State, 401 So. 2d 1169 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981)