RICHARD R. TAYLOR, PETITIONER,
v.
TGI FRIDAY'S, INC. AND BROADSPIRE, RESPONDENTS

Fla. 1st DCA | 2009-08-28
No. 1D09-0678
BARFIELD and VAN NORTWICK, JJ., concur; KAHN, J., concurs, with written opinion.
16 So. 3d 312 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2009) Positive Treatment
Cited by 8 cases

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Synopsis

In a workers' compensation case, Taylor petitioned for certiorari to challenge a judge of compensation claims' order appointing an expert medical advisor (EMA). The court denied the petition, holding that Taylor failed to demonstrate irreparable harm, which is a prerequisite to certiorari review of non-final workers' compensation orders.


Holding

The court held that Taylor failed to establish irreparable harm, which is a condition precedent to invoking certiorari jurisdiction. Nothing in the record established that the EMA examination would itself be invasive or cause harm to the claimant, and the claimant retains procedural remedies through deposition and appeal.


Headnotes

[1] A non-final workers' compensation order is reviewable by certiorari only if it constitutes a departure from essential requirements of law and would cause material harm no…

[2] Irreparable harm is a condition precedent to invoking certiorari jurisdiction in workers' compensation cases.

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Key Quotes

“For a non-final workers' compensation order to be reviewable by 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.”

Establishes the two-part test for certiorari review of non-final workers' compensation orders

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Facts & Procedural History

Taylor was a claimant in a workers' compensation case against TGI Friday's, Inc. and Broadspire. The judge of compensation claims (JCC) issued an orde…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Petitioner seeks certiorari relief and argues the JCC’s order appointing an expert *313medical advisor (EMA) represents a departure from the essential requirements of the law causing irreparable harm not remediable on appeal. Because Petitioner failed to establish irreparable harm, as was his burden, we deny the petition.

For a non-final workers’ compensation order to be reviewable by 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 demonstrate that the JCC’s order requiring him to attend an examination with an expert medical advisor (EMA) will cause a harm which is not remediable on appeal. See Vazquez v. Wendy’s, 931 So.2d 152 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006) (holding claimant who was ordered to attend a functional capacity evaluation which did not meet the specifications set forth by treating physician, did not establish irreparable harm); see also Dawson v. Clerk of Circuit Court-Hillsborough County, 991 So.2d 407 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008) (reversing JCC’s appointment of an EMA on plenary appeal, where disagreement in opinions of physicians was not supported by competent substantial evidence). Nothing in the record establishes that the EMA examination, relating to an issue in controversy for which Claimant has voluntarily undergone two similar examinations will, itself, be invasive or cause harm to Claimant.

To the extent that Petitioner believes the JCC failed to pose the correct question to the EMA, Petitioner has not established that he has been denied the opportunity to depose the EMA, or is otherwise foreclosed from eliciting the opinions he believes relevant to the disposition of his case. To the contrary, the statute and the rules of procedure allow Claimant to take the EMA’s deposition in the same manner and for the same purposes as provided in the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. See Fla. Admin. Code. R. 60Q-6.114(1) & (2); see also § 440.30, Fla. Stat. (2005).

For the foregoing reasons, the petition is DENIED.

BARFIELD and VAN NORTWICK, JJ., concur; KAHN, J., concurs, with written opinion.

KAHN, J.,

concurring.

I agree that we should not exercise our extraordinary writs jurisdiction in the present case. Nevertheless, I do not wish to join in any suggestion or implication that a wrongful order for an expert medical adviser will never be reviewable by certiorari.

Concurrence
KAHN, J.,

KAHN, J.,

concurring.

I agree that we should not exercise our extraordinary writs jurisdiction in the present case. Nevertheless, I do not wish to join in any suggestion or implication that a wrongful order for an expert medical adviser will never be reviewable by certiorari.


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