WILLIE HUNTER, APPELLANT,
v.
SOUTH FLORIDA SOD AND FLORIDA FARM BUREAU, APPELLEES
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.
The court affirmed that Social Security disability benefit offsets under Florida's workers' compensation statute must include cost-of-living increases accrued before the industrial accident, not just the initial benefit amount.
Cost-of-living increases in Social Security disability benefits accrued before the date of the industrial accident must be included when calculating the offset against permanent total disability benefits.
[1] Cost-of-living increases in Social Security disability benefits accrued before the date of a compensable industrial accident must be included when calculating the statuto…
Previewing 1 of 1 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWillie Hunter received Social Security disability benefits beginning in 1975 and suffered a compensable work accident in 1983. The employer/carrier so…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Workers' Compensation Offset cases and more on FLexlaw
BARFIELD, Judge.
The claimant seeks review of a workers’ compensation order determining that the employer/carrier (E/C) were entitled, under section 440.15(10)(a), Florida Statutes, to take an offset of the permanent total disability (PTD) benefits paid him based upon the amount of Social Security disability benefits he was receiving at the time of his compensable accident in 1983. The claimant argued unsuccessfully to the judge of compensation claims (JCC) that the offset must be calculated based upon the amount of Social Security disability benefits he began receiving in 1975, without considering the cost-of-living increases between then and the date of his industrial accident. The JCC found that Florida eases1 holding that cost-of-living increases are not to be included in calculating the offset are “clearly distinguishable in that such eases discuss situations where social security disability begins after the work-related accident,” and construed them as prohibiting consideration of only those cost-of-living increases occurring after the date of the industrial accident. We AFFIRM the JCC’s conclusions as being logical, fair, and consistent with the legislative intent to encourage prospective employers to hire previously injured workers.
KAHN, J. and SHIVERS, Senior Judge, concur. . See, for example, Trilla v. Braman Cadillac, 527 So. 2d 873 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); Eques v. Best Knit Textile Corporation, 382 So. 2d 736 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980); The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company v. Wood, 380 So. 2d 558 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980); A.C. Scott Construction and Paving Company v. Miller, IRC Order 2-3906 (Sept. 11, 1979).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Althan W. Hunt v. D.M. Stratton, Jr., 677 So. 2d 64 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996)…workers’ compensation supplemental benefit is considered in the initial calculation of the workers’ compensation offset, the law does not contemplate a recalculation of the offset based upon any increases thereafter. See Hunter v. South Florida Sod, 666 So. 2d 1018 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996), and Hyatt v. Larson Dairy, Inc., 589 So. 2d 367 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991), and cases cited therein. The JCC’s order is REVERSED and the case is REMANDED for correction of the order consistent with this opinion. KAHN and VAN NORTWICK…
-
State of Fla. & Dep't of Ins. v. Herny, 776 So. 2d 932 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)…that we reach — that no post-injury cost-of-living increases to collateral benefits may be offset against workers’ compensation benefits. Such a result also seems to be consistent with prior decisions of this court. See Hunter v. South Florida Sod, 666 So. 2d 1018 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996) (cost-of-living increases to social security disability benefits accruing after the date of the industrial accident cannot be included in the offset calculation). We affirm the decision of the judge of compensation claims which…
-
Orange Cnty. Fire Rescue & Johns E. Co., Inc. v. Antonelli, 794 So. 2d 758 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)…calculation of the workers’ compensation offset, the law does not contemplate a recalcula [*761] tion of the offset based upon any increases thereafter.” Hunt, in turn, relied on two previous social security offset cases—Hunter v. South Florida Sod, 666 So. 2d 1018 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996), and Hyatt v. Larson Dairy, Inc., 589 So. 2d 367 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). However, reliance on social security offset cases is misplaced because a social security offset is distinct from a Grice offset, and is governed by a different…
Authorities Cited
- Berta Eques v. Best Knit Textile Corp. & Hartford Ins. Grp., 382 So. 2d 736 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980)
- The Great Atl. & Pac. TEA Co. v. Wood, 380 So. 2d 558 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980)
- Trilla v. Braman Cadillac & Adjustco, Inc., 527 So. 2d 873 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)