RANDALL BOBER, APPELLANT,
v.
BUSH AIR CONDITIONING AND CLAIMS CENTER, APPELLEE
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In this workers' compensation appeal, the court held that temporary rehabilitative benefits awarded under Florida Statutes section 440.491 after a claimant reaches maximum medical improvement (MMI) are not subject to the 104-week statutory maximum for temporary disability benefits imposed by section 440.15. The claimant was entitled to receive the full 69 weeks of temporary partial disability benefits he claimed, not the reduced 58 weeks the trial court awarded.
Temporary rehabilitative benefits received after reaching MMI under section 440.491 are not included within the 104-week maximum for temporary disability benefits under section 440.15. Therefore, the claimant was entitled to receive the full 69 weeks of temporary partial disability benefits claimed, separate from the rehabilitative benefits already received.
[1] Temporary rehabilitative benefits received after reaching maximum medical improvement are not included within the statutory 104-week maximum for temporary indemnity benef…
[2] Temporary total disability benefits and temporary partial benefits awarded before reaching maximum medical improvement are limited to a combined maximum of 104 weeks.
Previewing 2 of 3 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“an award of any combination of temporary total disability benefits and temporary partial benefits is limited to a maximum of 104 weeks”
Establishes the general rule for pre-MMI temporary disability benefits under section 440.15
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRandall Bober was injured on July 5, 1998, and reached MMI on May 13, 2000. He received 35 weeks of temporary partial disability benefits and 11 weeks…
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PER CURIAM.
In this workers’ compensation case, Claimant, Randall Bober, was injured on July 5,1998, and reached MMI on May 13, 2000. Claimant received 35 weeks of temporary partial disability benefits. At the final hearing, Claimant sought the remaining 69 weeks of temporary partial disability benefits he was due pursuant to Florida Statutes section 440.15, which imposes a maximum of 104 weeks of temporary indemnity benefits. The JCC entered a final order on September 28, 2001, finding that the statutory maximum entitlement to 104 weeks of temporary indemnity benefits included 11 weeks of rehabilitative temporary total benefits which Claimant received after he reached MMI, pursuant to section 440.491. According to the JCC, Claimant was due 58 weeks of temporary partial benefits instead of the 69 weeks of temporary partial benefits he requested. Claimant appealed, claiming that the temporary rehabilitative benefits he received pursuant to section 440.491 should not be included within the 104 weeks of temporary disability benefits, .as limited in section 440.15. We agree with Claimant, and reverse.
In Okeechobee Health Care v. Collins, 726 So. 2d 775 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998), and City of Pensacola Firefighters v. Oswald, 710 So. 2d 95 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998), this court held that an award of any combination of temporary total disability benefits and temporary partial benefits is limited to a maximum of 104 weeks. As authority for this proposition, these cases rely on section 440.15(2)(a) and (4), which expressly limit the number of weeks a claimant may be awarded temporary benefits before reaching MMI.
Here, however, Claimant received temporary rehabilitative benefits after reaching MMI, as specifically contemplated by section 440.491. See Ring Power Corp. v. Campbell, 697 So. 2d 203 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)(holding that once the Division of Workers’ Compensation authorized rehabilitative training, concomitant temporary total benefits up to 26 weeks were mandatory, even though the claimant had reached MMI). We therefore reverse, holding that Claimant was entitled to an award of 69 weeks of temporary partial disability benefits.
REVERSED.
BOOTH, BENTON and VAN NORTWICK, JJ„ concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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Infinger Transp. Co. & Travelers Ins. Co. v. Johnson, 863 So. 2d 1275 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004)…DCA 1995)). But the award of temporary partial disability benefits from February 5, 1997 to October 19, 2001 exceeds the statutory maximum of 104 weeks. See §§ 440.15(2)(a), (4)(b), Fla. Stat. (2001); Bober v. Bush Air Conditioning & Claims Ctr., 826 So. 2d 487, 488 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002) (“[A]n award of any combination of temporary total disability benefits and temporary partial benefits is limited to a maximum of 104 weeks.”); Okeechobee Health Care v. Collins, 726 So. 2d 775, 776 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998) (“[T]h…
Authorities Cited
- City OF Pensacola Firefighters & Fla. League of Cities v. Oswald, 710 So. 2d 95 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998)
- Okeechobee Health Care & Associated Indus. Ins. Co., Inc. v. Collins, 726 So. 2d 775 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998)
- Ring Power Corp. & United Self Insured Servs. v. Campbell, 697 So. 2d 203 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)