ROCIO LOPEZ, APPELLANT,
v.
ALLIED AEROFOAM/SPECIALTY RISK SERVICES, APPELLEES
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.
In this workers' compensation case, the Florida District Court of Appeal reversed a Judge of Compensation Claims' denial of a statutory advance payment of $2,000 or less, holding that such advances are available in contested cases when a claimant demonstrates an actual or apparent physical impairment, regardless of whether ultimate compensability is established.
The court held that statutory advances of $2,000 or less are awardable in contested cases when a claimant demonstrates one of the statutory conditions (including an actual or apparent physical impairment), and that proof of ultimate compensability is not required by the statute.
[1] A Judge of Compensation Claims may award an advance payment of compensation not exceeding $2,000.00 upon a claimant demonstrating failure to return to employment at no su…
[2] The statute permitting advance payments of compensation not exceeding $2,000.00 does not require proof that the injured worker will actually receive future benefits from…
Previewing 2 of 5 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“Although the contingency of non-reimbursement from [the] employee ... may, in fact, be realized, the legislature has not seen fit to codify the possibility of employer prejudice as to advances not exceeding $2,000, as here.”
Establishes that the statute does not require proof of future recovery by the employer and does not allow employer prejudice as a basis for denying advances under $2,000
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRocio Lopez, an injured worker, requested a statutory advance payment of compensation not exceeding $2,000 from her employer/insurer, Allied Aerofoam/…
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.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Judicial Construction Of Statutes cases and more on FLexlaw
In this workers’ compensation case, Claimant, Rocio Lopez, appeals an order of the Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) denying a request for a statutory advance payment of compensation not in excess of $2,000.00. Claimant argues the JCC erred in determining advances of $2,000.00 or less are not awardable in contested cases. Under existing law, reversal is required.
Section 440.20(12)(c), Florida Statutes (2009), permits a JCC to award an advance payment of compensation not in excess of $2,000.00, after giving due consideration to the “interests of the person entitled thereto,” where a claimant demon*889strates one of the following: (1) failure to return to employment at no substantial wage reduction; (2) a substantial loss of earning capacity; or (B) an actual or apparent physical impairment. The statute does not require proof that the injured worker will actually receive any benefits in the future from which the employer can recover the sum advanced, and the statute does not limit advances to cases in which compensability is established. See Workers of Fla. v. Williams, 743 So.2d 609, 610 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999).
In Williams, the employer argued the JCC erred in ordering a $2,000.00 advance because no evidence indicated the claimant would be eligible to receive any benefits in the future from which the E/C could recover the sum advanced. This court disagreed: “Although the contingency of non-reimbursement from [the] employee ... may, in fact, be realized, the legislature has not seen fit to codify the possibility of employer prejudice as to advances not exceeding $2,000, as here.” Id. The court reiterated, “The only conditions pertinent to the inquiry of the appropriateness of such advances are those stated in section 440.20(12)(e), and they do not mention the potential of employer prejudice.” Id.
The Williams case was decided in 1999, and the Legislature has substantially amended the Workers’ Compensation Law since that time. See, e.g., Ch. 2001-91, Laws of Fla.; Ch. 2003-412, Laws of Fla. With presumptive knowledge of this court’s holding in Williams, the Legislature elected not to amend section 440.20(12)(c)2. See City of Hollywood v. Lombardi, 770 So.2d 1196, 1202 (Fla.2000) (holding Legislature is presumed to know judicial constructions of law when enacting new version of that law). A court must therefore presume that the Legislature has adopted the statutory construction announced by the court in Williams. See id. at 1202 (holding Legislature is presumed to have adopted prior judicial constructions of law unless a contrary intention is expressed in new version).
Section 440.20(12)(c)2. requires the JCC to consider the “interests of the person entitled [to the advance].... ” The statute does not, however, mention a showing of ultimate compensability. We may not read such a requirement into the statute. See Special Disability Trust Fund v. Motor Compressor Co., 446 So.2d 224 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984) (holding that where statute enumerates one thing, it is ordinarily construed as excluding from its operation all those not expressly mentioned). Here, the JCC found Claimant suffered an apparent physical impairment, as required by the statute. See § 440.20(12)(c), Fla. Stat. (2009). Nevertheless, the JCC denied the requested advance based solely on her conclusion that such an advance could not be awarded in a contested case. Accordingly, we REVERSE the order denying an advance.
KAHN, VAN NORTWICK, and THOMAS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Esis/ACE Am. Ins. Co. & Delta Air Lines, Inc. v. Kuhn, 104 So. 3d 1111 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012)…extra money. Finally, Ms. Kuhn testified she has no pending claims for any type of temporary or permanent benefits other than the requested advance. Her attorney argued that this Court’s decision in Lopez v. Allied Aerofoam/Specialty Risk Services, 48 So. 3d 888 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010), makes an award of an advance “pretty much automatic” where the only statutory consideration is the claimant’s interest. Based on Ms. Kuhn’s testimony and her counsel’s argument, the JCC found that the advance payment was in her…
-
Shannon v. Cheney Bros. Inc. & The Travelers, 157 So. 3d 397 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015)…er Excavating, 100 So. 3d 727 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012) (affirming order denying an advance); HIT Promotional Prods. Inc. v. Krivdic, 84 So. 3d 1234 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012) (affirming order awarding an advance); Lopez v. Allied Aerofoam/Specialty Risk Servs., 48 So. 3d 888 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010) (reversing order denying an advance); Workers of Fla. v. Williams, 743 So. 2d 609 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999) (affirming order awarding an advance). And in Salvation Army v. Leon, 75 So. 3d 750 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011), we specifically held t…
-
Esad Babahmetovic v. Scan Design Fla. Inc./Zenith Ins. Co., 176 So. 3d 1006 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015)…e a compensable accident and injury before an employee is entitled to any benefit allowed in Chapter 440” — with one single exception: an advance payment under section 440.20(12), Florida Statutes. See Lopez v. Allied Aerofoam/Specialty Risk Servs., 48 So. 3d 888, 889 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010). But the JCC erred in not recognizing the existence of a compensable injury in this case. This error came about by the JCC’s conflating the existence and cause of the injury — compensability—with the existence and cause of t…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- City OF Hollywood v. Lombardi, 770 So. 2d 1196 (Fla. 2000)
- Workers OF Fla. & AIG Claim Servs. v. Williams, 743 So. 2d 609 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)
- Special Disability Tr. Fund v. Motor & Compressor Co. & Shelby Mut. Ins. Co., 446 So. 2d 224 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)