ANNA M. COWINS, APPELLANT,
v.
LANDMARK LEARNING CENTER, ET AL., APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 2004-10-18
No. 1D03-2865
DAVIS and BROWNING, JJ., concur.
885 So. 2d 421 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2004)

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Synopsis

In this workers' compensation appeal, the court reversed the Judge of Compensation Claims' exclusion of chiropractor Dr. Burak's deposition testimony. The JCC erred in applying a 1992 statutory restriction retroactively to a claimant injured in 1992, when that restriction was not in effect at the time of injury.


Holding

Section 440.13(5)(e) is substantive, not procedural, and therefore cannot be applied retroactively to claimants injured before its enactment. The claimant is not bound by the statute's restrictions on medical testimony. The exclusion of Dr. Burak's detailed testimony was not harmless error because the brief statement that he 'put her out on total incapacitated' did not adequately convey the detailed medical opinions in his deposition and narrative notes.


Headnotes

[1] A statute that restricts the admission of medical testimony in workers' compensation cases is substantive and cannot be applied retroactively to accidents that occurred b…

[2] The exclusion of relevant and non-cumulative medical testimony in a workers' compensation case is not harmless error if it prevents the claimant from presenting evidence…

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Key Quotes

“Section 440.13(5)(e), Florida Statutes (Supp.1994), is substantive in nature and cannot be applied retroactively.”

Establishes the core holding that the statute restricting medical testimony cannot be applied to injuries occurring before the statute's enactment.

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Facts & Procedural History

The claimant was injured on December 4, 1992. She treated with chiropractor Dr. Burak from August 1995 through November 1995, and as needed through No…

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Opinion of the Court
HAWKES, J.

HAWKES, J.

In this workers’ compensation appeal, the Claimant presents four grounds upon which she argues reversal is required. We conclude only one has merit, and reverse. We affirm as to the remaining grounds without discussion.

The Claimant was injured on December 4, 1992. Thus, her substantive rights are fixed by the 1992 version of the Florida Statutes, the law in effect at the time of her accident. See e.g., Southern Bakeries v. Cooper, 659 So. 2d 339 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995). At the final hearing, the Claimant sought to introduce the deposition testimony of Dr. Burak, a chiropractor with whom she had been treating for a number of years. The employer/carrier (E/C) objected, arguing that, because Dr. Burak was not a medical advisor appointed by the Judge of Compensation Claims, an independent medical examiner, nor an authorized treating physician, section 440.13(5)(e), Florida Statutes (Supp.1994) barred the admission of his testimony. The E/C further argued this statutory provision was procedural, and could be applied to the Claimant’s date of accident. The JCC accepted both arguments and excluded this testimony. In so doing, the JCC erred.

Section 440.13(5)(e), Florida Statutes (Supp.1994), is substantive in nature and cannot be applied retroactively. See Southern Bakeries, 659 So. 2d at 340. Because this statute was not in effect at the time of Claimant’s accident, she is not bound by its restrictions on the admission of medical testimony. See id. at 341. On appeal, the E/C acknowledge the JCC erred by excluding this testimony. However, they argue the exclusion was harmless, because the opinion contained in the excluded testimony was presented through the testimony of an administrative assistant for the employer, who testified Dr. Burak “was the one that put her out on total incapacitated.” We cannot agree.

The Claimant’s proffer of Dr. Burak’s deposition testimony indicates she treated with Dr. Burak from August 1995, through November 1, 1995, and as needed through November 9, 1997. Dr. Burak prepared narrative notes on the course of his treatment and, from a chiropractic standpoint, he did not believe she was capable of working during the period in which she was treated. Dr. Burak opined the Claimant had a 12 to 14 percent permanent impairment rating, and gave a detailed recitation of the Claimant’s injuries and the evidence upon which he based his medical opinion. Clearly, the detail expressed in Dr. Burak’s deposition testimony and narrative notes was not adequately pre sented through testimony that Dr. Burak was “the one that put her out on total incapacitated.” Because Dr. Burak’s testimony indicated Claimant was incapable of working during the course of his treatment, and this testimony was not cumulative, its exclusion was not harmless. The final order is REVERSED, and the case remanded for the JCC to consider Dr. Burak’s testimony.

DAVIS and BROWNING, JJ., concur.


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