BRIAN DIESTEL, PETITIONER,
v.
WINFREY PLUMBING, INC. AND CLAIMS CENTER, RESPONDENTS

Fla. 1st DCA | 1996-02-20
No. 95-2368
ALLEN and KAHN, JJ., and SMITH, Senior Judge, concur.
668 So. 2d 283 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1996) Positive Treatment
Cited by 12 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

Brian Diestel seeks certiorari review of an order dismissing his workers' compensation petition for failing to exhaust his employer's managed care grievance procedures before filing for benefits. The court denies the petition without reaching Diestel's constitutional challenge to the statute, finding that an adequate remedy exists through appeal of a final dismissal order.


Holding

The court denies the petition for writ of certiorari without reaching the constitutional issue. A nonfinal compensation order is reviewable by certiorari only if it constitutes a departure from essential requirements of law, would cause material harm, and could not be adequately remedied by appeal. Here, an adequate remedy exists: Diestel could request entry of a final order of dismissal with prejudice, which could then be appealed.


Headnotes

[1] An employee must exhaust all managed care grievance procedures before filing a petition for benefits when the employer has elected to satisfy its obligation to provide me…

[2] A nonfinal compensation order is reviewable by certiorari only if it constitutes a departure from the essential requirements of law, would cause material harm, and cannot…

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Key Quotes

“If the employer has elected to satisfy its obligation to provide medical treatment, care, and attendance through a managed care arrangement designated under [chapter 440], the employee must exhaust all managed care grievance procedures before filing a petition for benefits under this section.”

Establishes the statutory requirement at issue that triggered the dismissal of Diestel's petition.

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Facts & Procedural History

Diestel suffered a lower back injury on October 11, 1994, in an industrial accident. His employer notified him on November 1, 1994, of its designated …

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

By petition for writ of certiorari, Brian Diestel seeks review of the judge of compensation claims’ nonfinal order dismissing without prejudice that portion of Diestel’s petition for benefits seeking medical treatment because he failed to exhaust the Employer’s managed care grievance procedure as required by section 440.192(3), Florida Statutes (Supp.1994). Diestel supports his petition for writ of certiorari on his contention that section 440.192(3) is unconstitutional. As explained below, we deny the petition without reaching the constitutional issue.

Section 440.192(3) provides in part that “[i]f the employer has elected to satisfy its obligation to provide medical treatment, care, and attendance through a managed care arrangement designated under [chapter 440], the employee must exhaust all managed care grievance procedures before filing a petition for benefits under this section.” Diestel injured his lower back on October 11, 1994, in an industrial accident.

On November 1, 1994, Diestel’s employer notified him of its designated managed care arrangement and Diestel’s rights and responsibilities thereunder.

Nonetheless, Diestel did not pursue his remedies under the plan, nor did he follow the plan’s grievance procedures to obtain resolution of his dispute. Instead, Diestel filed a petition for benefits on February 10, 1995, seeking compensation benefits and alleging the need for remedial or palliative medical care from specifically named neurologists and orthopedic physicians, treatment from a pain clinic, a work hardening pro gram, and authorization for heat, massage, and ultrasound three times per week. No allegation was contained in the petition claiming the existence of a medical emergency that would have enabled the judge to require the appearance of the parties pursuant to section 440.25(4)(h), Florida Statutes (Supp.1994).

The Employer and Carrier filed a motion to dismiss the petition for benefits on the basis that Diestel had not exhausted the grievance procedure prior to filing his petition as mandated by section 440.192(3). Following a hearing on the motion, the judge of compensation claims entered an order dismissing without prejudice the “issues relating to remedial or palliative medical treatment, care or attendance,” and instructing Diestel “to satisfy the managed care grievance procedures and follow the guidelines set forth in Section 440.192,” should Diestel refile his claim. Diestel next filed a petition for writ of certiorari in this court seeking review of the nonfinal order and challenging the constitutionality of the statute.

For a nonfinal compensation order to be reviewable by certiorari, a party is required to demonstrate that the order: (1) constitutes a departure from the essential requirements of law; (2) would cause material harm; and (3) could not be adequately remedied by appeal. Hines Electric v. McClure, 616 So. 2d 132 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993); Adelman Steel Corp. v. Winter, 610 So. 2d 494 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). Diestel submits that if he is not able to proceed by way of petition for writ of certiorari, he will have no other way of addressing the constitutional issues set forth in his petition.

We disagree. If Diestel is unwilling to pursue the grievance procedure to resolution, he could so advise the judge of compensation claims and request entry of a final order of dismissal with prejudice which then may be appealed. Cf. Augustin v. Blount, Inc., 573 So. 2d 104 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). The availability of an adequate remedy by appeal after entry of a final order in this case precludes review by way of certiorari.

The petition for writ of certiorari is hereby denied.

ALLEN and KAHN, JJ., and SMITH, Senior Judge, concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Caldwell v. Wal-Mart Stores, 980 So. 2d 1226 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008)
    …ertio-rari, a party is required to demonstrate that the order: (1) constitutes a departure from the essential requirements of law; (2) would cause material harm; and (3) could not be adequately remedied by appeal.” Diestel v. Winfrey Plumbing, Inc., 668 So. 2d 283, 284 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996). We have previously held certiorari review is appropriate to review a non-final order compelling a claimant in workers’ compensation proceedings to attend an IME. See Zabik v. Palm Beach County Sch. Dist., 911 So. 2d 858, 85…
  • Taylor v. TGI Friday's, 16 So. 3d 312 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009)
    …certiorari, a petitioner is required to demonstrate that the order constitutes a departure from essential requirements of law, and would cause material harm that cannot be adequately remedied by appeal. See, e.g., Diestel v. Winfrey Plumbing, Inc., 668 So. 2d 283, 284 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996). Irreparable harm is a condition precedent to invoking certiorari jurisdiction, and should be considered first. See Spry v. Prof. Employer Plans, 985 So. 2d 1187, 1188 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008). Here, Petitioner fails to demonst…
  • Torres v. Costco Wholesale Corp. & Liberty Mut. Ins. Grp., 115 So. 3d 1111 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013)
    …iorari, a party is required to demonstrate that the order: (1) constitutes a departure from the essential requirements of law; (2) would cause material harm; and (3) could not be adequately remedied on appeal.” See Diestel v. Winfrey Plumbing, Inc., 668 So. 2d 283, 284 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996). The E/C does not challenge Claimant’s assertion that a compelled physical exam may provide the irreparable harm that cannot be remedied on appeal; thus, our focus is on whether the order compelling the exam departed from th…

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