SELECTA FARMS AND FLORIST'S INSURANCE, APPELLANTS,
v.
FRANCISCO MARTINEZ, APPELLEE
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Florida appellate court reversed award of psychiatric evaluation and treatment in workers' compensation case because claimant failed to establish proximate medical causation linking psychiatric condition to compensable injury.
An award of psychiatric evaluation and treatment in workers' compensation must be reversed when the claimant fails to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that the psychiatric condition is a direct and immediate result of the compensable injury.
[1] In workers' compensation cases, a claimant seeking psychiatric evaluation and treatment must establish by clear and convincing evidence and objective medical findings tha…
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 intelligence“claimant was also required to demonstrate his resultant mental conditions within a reasonable degree of medical certainty and by objective medical findings, with the proof being established by clear and convincing evidence. This is a test of proximate medical causation, however, not major contributing cause, because ... the mental conditions are manifestations of the original physical injury.”
From Claims Management, Inc. v. Drewno, explaining the evidentiary standard for psychiatric conditions in workers' compensation cases.
Selecta Farms and its insurer appealed an order awarding certain benefits to claimant Francisco Martinez in a workers' compensation case, including a …
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PER CURIAM.
In this workers’ compensation case, the employer/carrier appeal an order awarding certain benefits to the claimant. We reverse the award of a psychiatric evaluation and possible treatment because nothing in the record links any need the claimant may have for this benefit to the claimant’s compensable injury. See, e.g., Claims Management, Inc. v. Drewno, 727 So. 2d 395, 399 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999) (“As for his psychiatric conditions, claimant was also required to demonstrate his resultant mental conditions within a reasonable degree of medical certainty and by objective medical findings, with the proof being established by clear and convincing evidence. This is a test of proximate medical causation, however, not major contributing cause, because ... the mental conditions are manifestations of the original physical injury.” (citation omitted)); Kentucky Fried Chicken v. Tyler, 716 So. 2d 295, 298 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998) (explaining that letter from doctor recommending that claimant “be evaluated to determine whether what seemed to be depression was related to her accident at work,” together with another doctor’s recommendation for psychiatric evaluation, supported award of psychiatric evaluation but did not constitute competent substantial evidence to support JCC’s determination that psychiatric condition was direct and immediate result of industrial accident and, therefore, award of prospective psychiatric treatment was reversed). In all other respects, we affirm.
BOOTH, KAHN, and BROWNING, JJ., CONCUR.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Cromartie v. City OF ST. Petersburg/City of St., 840 So. 2d 372 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003)…incing evidence. Id. at 399. We then [*375] reiterated that such test is for proximate medical causation, not major contributing cause, as mental conditions are manifestations of the original physical injury. Id.; see also Selecta Farms v. Martinez, 768 So. 2d 1272, 1273 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000) (reversing an award of a psychiatric evaluation and possible treatment as nothing in the record linked any need the claimant may have had for this benefit to the claimant’s compensable injury). From a review of the JCC’s o…
Authorities Cited
- Claims Mgmt., Inc. v. Drewno, 727 So. 2d 395 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)
- Johnston v. State, 716 So. 2d 295 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998)
- Ky. Fried Chicken & Crawford & Co. v. Tyler, 716 So. 2d 295 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998)