WEST COAST ELEVATOR CO., AND AIG CLAIM SERVICES, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
DAVID WOOD, APPELLEE
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Florida appellate court reversed a worker's compensation order granting a functional capacity evaluation because the treating physician testified there were no long-term restrictions and no competent evidence supported medical necessity for the evaluation.
A functional capacity evaluation cannot be ordered in worker's compensation when the treating physician has testified there are no long-term post-operative restrictions and no competent, substantial evidence supports medical necessity.
[1] A functional capacity evaluation in worker's compensation proceedings requires competent, substantial evidence of medical necessity, which cannot be satisfied when the tr…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellee underwent surgery and was treated by Dr. Maurer, who released him to return to full-time duty after 45 days of light-duty work with no long-t…
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PER CURIAM.
This is an appeal from a worker’s compensation order granting Appellee’s request for a functional capacity evaluation (FCE). Because there was no competent, substantial evidence supporting the medical necessity for the FCE, we reverse.1
The only evidence submitted in this case was the deposition testimony of Appellee’s most recent treating physician, Dr. Maurer. The physician testified that he did not impose any long-term restrictions upon Appellee and that he released Appellee to return to full-time duty after 45 days of light-duty work. In a prior proceeding concerning Appellee’s petition for permanent total disability benefits, which included the exact same testimony, the judge of compensation claims (JCC) found that Dr. Maurer had affirmatively assigned no long-term post-operative restrictions upon Appellee following his recovery from surgery.
Accordingly, because there was no competent, substantial evidence supporting the medical necessity of an FCE and Appel-lee’s treating physician had already informed Appellee that there were no long-term restrictions or limitations, we REVERSE.
MINER, WOLF and DAVIS, JJ., concur. . Because we find that there was no evidence of medical necessity, we do not address Appellants’ arguments concerning waiver and res judicata.
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Lewis v. Dollar Rent A CAR and Esis WC Claims, 220 So. 3d 1246 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017)…w that permits an E/C to force a claimant to. submit to treatment, nor does any provision of law brought to our attention permit this court to bodily force an injured employee to undergo unwanted medical care.”). In West Coast Elevator Co. v. Wood, 780 So. 2d 321 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001), we reversed an order granting the claimant’s request for an FCE because there was “no competent, substantial evidence supporting the medical necessity of an FCE.” To clarify, West Coast Elevator does not hold that a JCC can comp…
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Morris v. State, 246 So. 3d 514 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018)