VOLUSIA COUNTY FIRE SERVICES AND COUNTY RISK MANAGEMENT, APPELLANTS,
v.
PATRICK TAAFFE, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 2009-12-15
No. 1D07-5699
WOLF, LEWIS, and ROBERTS, JJ., concur.
27 So. 3d 81 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2009) Positive Treatment
Cited by 1 case

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Volusia County Fire Services appeals a workers' compensation judge's decision awarding benefits to firefighter Patrick Taaffe for hypertension under Florida's statutory presumption for firefighters. The court reverses, holding that the statutory presumption does not apply because Taaffe had a pre-existing hypertension diagnosis noted in his pre-employment physical with his current employer.


Holding

The court reversed the JCC's decision. The statutory presumption in section 112.18(1) does not apply because the statute requires that the firefighter must have passed a pre-employment physical that revealed no evidence of the condition, and Taaffe's pre-employment physical with his current employer specifically noted his hypertension diagnosis.


Headnotes

[1] A presumption of compensability for a firefighter's hypertension under section 112.18(1), Florida Statutes, requires that the firefighter successfully passed a physical e…

[2] A pre-employment physical examination conducted by a subsequent employer does not satisfy the requirement of section 112.18(1), Florida Statutes, for a physical examinati…

Previewing 2 of 4 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

Key Quotes

“Any condition or impairment of health of any Florida state, municipal, county, port authority, special tax district, or fire control district firefighter or any law enforcement officer or correctional officer as defined in s. 943.10(1), (2), or (3) caused by tuberculosis, heart disease, or hypertension resulting in total or partial disability or death shall be presumed to have been accidental and to have been suffered in the line of duty unless the contrary be shown by competent evidence. However, any such firefighter or law enforcement officer shall have successfully passed a physical examination upon entering into any such service as a firefighter or law enforcement officer, which examination failed to reveal any evidence of any such condition.”

The statutory presumption provision that provides the basis for the presumption of compensability for firefighters with certain conditions, including hypertension.

Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Taaffe worked as a firefighter for Cedar Hammock Fire Department starting in July 1992 and was diagnosed with hypertension in February 2004 while empl…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

*82PER CURIAM.

The employer/carrier (E/C), Volusia County Fire Services and County Risk Management, raises one dispositive issue on appeal, whether the Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) erred by determining Claimant’s hypertension was compensable under the presumption created by section 112.18(1), Florida Statutes (2005). We agree and reverse.

Claimant entered into service as a firefighter in July 1992 with the Cedar Hammock Fire Department. In February 2004, while still employed with Cedar Hammock Fire Department, Claimant was diagnosed with hypertension. Claimant worked for Cedar Hammock Fire Department until December 2004 when Volusia County (the Employer) hired Claimant as a fire lieutenant. Before working for the Employer, Claimant underwent a pre-em-ployment physical which noted his diagnosis for hypertension but otherwise found Claimant “fit for duty.”

On September 14, 2005, Claimant was on a training mission when his blood pressure and heart rate became elevated and he was temporarily relieved of duty pending a medical examination. Claimant was seen by the E/C’s occupational physician and was diagnosed as having stress, atypical chest pain, and high blood pressure, which was again noted as being pre-existing. He was cleared to return to work on September 16, 2005.

Claimant filed two Petition for Benefits requests seeking indemnity benefits, correction of average weekly wage, authorization for treatment with a cardiologist, and reimbursement for medical care. The E/C denied compensability based, in part, on the ground that Claimant’s hypertension was pre-existing; therefore, he was not entitled to the presumption set forth in section 112.18.

Section 112.18(1) provides:

(1) Any condition or impairment of health of any Florida state, municipal, county, port authority, special tax district, or fire control district firefighter or any law enforcement officer or correctional officer as defined in s. 943.10(1), (2), or (3) caused by tuberculosis, heart disease, or hypertension resulting in total or partial disability or death shall be presumed to have been accidental and to have been suffered in the line of duty unless the contrary be shown by competent evidence. However, any such firefighter or law enforcement officer shall have successfully passed a physical examination upon entering into any such service as a firefighter or law enforcement officer, which examination failed to reveal any evidence of any such condition. ...

(Emphasis added). The JCC ruled for Claimant, finding in relevant part: Claimant successfully passed a pre-employment physical before entering into service as a firefighter with Cedar Hammock; the phrase “entering into any such sendee” in section 112.18(1), “clearly refers to a physical examination at the beginning of a firefighters’ career;” and it is immaterial that Claimant’s pre-employment physical with the Employer revealed hypertension. The JCC erred in ignoring Claimant’s pre-em-ployment physical with the employer. See Miami-Dade v. Davis, 26 So.3d 13 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009). The JCC’s order finding Claimant’s condition to be compensable is reversed.

We remand for entry of an order consistent with this opinion.

WOLF, LEWIS, and ROBERTS, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw