ROBERT E. SIZEMORE, PETITIONER,
v.
CANAVERAL PORT AUTHORITY, AND AETNA INSURANCE COMPANY, RESPONDENTS

Fla. | 1976-04-28
No. 46429
BOYD, ENGLAND, SUNDBERG and HATCHETT, JJ., concur., ROBERTS and ADKINS, JJ., dissent.
332 So. 2d 23 Florida Supreme Court (1976) Caution
Cited by 29 cases

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Holding

The court held that an employee is not entitled to temporary total disability benefits for a period of ignorance of a work-related condition and that the Industrial Relations Commission was bound by a stipulation of the parties regarding average weekly wages.


Headnotes

[1] A claimant is not disabled within the meaning of workers' compensation law if they experience no known disability or physical restriction, even if an underlying condition…

[2] A claimant's mental health condition, arising from a diagnosis of a serious medical condition, can disqualify them from employment and constitute a disability for workers…

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Facts & Procedural History

Petitioner suffered a job-related injury in 1968, but was not diagnosed with a dissecting aneurysm until 1972. He filed a claim for compensation in 19…

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Opinion of the Court
OVERTON, Chief Justice.

OVERTON, Chief Justice.

This is a claimant’s petition for writ of certiorari to the Industrial Relations Commission. We have jurisdiction.1

At petitioner’s job site on June 19, 1968, a tractor rolling backwards crushed petitioner against a trailer. Petitioner was hospitalized, treated and released July 12, 1968, with no diagnosed impairments of any present significance. Subsequently in June, 1972, during a preinduction physical examination, petitioner first learned of the condition diagnosed as a very large dissecting aneurysm of the thoracic aorta. He was advised it could rupture at any time, especially when subjected to heavy physical exertion or any other stimulus producing high blood pressure, the rupture resulting in immediate death.

Defendant’s claim for compensation for this condition was filed May 4, 1973. Expert testimony at the hearing established surgical treatment was not recommended owing to substantial risk of death or paralysis. It is uncontroverted that the aneurysm was caused by the job-related injury occurring in June, 1968.

Before the 1972 diagnosis petitioner maintained a normal lifestyle, including surfing for a year in California prior to finishing high school, further schooling, and taking occasional light physical work. Following the diagnosis and throughout these proceedings petitioner has manifested a psychological disturbance secondary to this condition which has raised the question of his fitness for any sort of work. The parties stipulated at hearing that petitioner’s wage was $60 per week and that appropriate compensation would be $36 per week therefor. The Judge of Industrial Claims concluded as a matter of law that petitioner should receive temporary total disability for the period between his injury in June, 1968, and May 1, 1973, the date on which he found maximum medical improvement to have occurred, despite petitioner’s ignorance of the aneurysm until June, 1972. The Judge’s basis for this decision is not clear, and the ' Commission reversed the finding. The record is clear that petitioner observed no physical limitations during the period ending in June, 1972, and his ignorance protected him from the psychological stress he now experiences. Since petitioner experienced no known disability or physical restriction, we must conclude he was not disabled during that period within the meaning of the compensation law.

From the time of the diagnosis in June, 1972, to May 1, 1973, medical testimony established the condition of petitioner’s mental health to be such as to disqualify him from employment, in addition to being physically disqualified from any strenuous activity. The condition was described as one of severe depression, frus tration and anxiety secondary to the diagnosis, a reaction much like that a very serious cancer or cardiac patient would experience. The Commission’s objection to any disability finding for this period was based on petitioner’s failure to test the job market. We disagree since the proven mental aspect of his health prevented gainful employment. Cf. Superior Mill Works v. Gabel, 89 So. 2d 794, 795 (Fla.1956), citing with approval A. Larson, Workmen’s Compensation, § 42.22 (1st ed. 1952).

The Judge of Industrial Claims next found that petitioner reached maximum medical improvement May 1, 1973, relying on prognoses in the record for the aneurysm. The Commission reversed this finding, citing the testimony of two physicians indicating the contrary. We agree. Our review indicates such testimony is. accurately relied on by the Commission and is not disputed in the record. Both physicians testified that when considering the physical and mental aspects of petitioner’s health together, it had not stabilized but showed potential for improvement.

The Judge of Industrial Claims looked beyond the stipulation of the parties concerning the petitioner’s wage at the time of the injury, and increased the amount awarded as compensation from $36 to $49 per week. He determined Section 440.14(4), Florida Statutes (1973),2 to authorize such action. The Commission reversed the increase, holding the Judge of Industrial Claims bound by the stipulation. We agree since there was no evidence before the Judge of Industrial Claims from which he could make that finding.

Our opinion renders the penalties assessed by the Judge of Industrial Claims improper, and renders excessive the attorney’s fee. We remand this cause to the Industrial Relations Commission with directions to remand it to the Judge of Industrial Claims for further findings of fact and entry of an order consistent with this opinion.

It is so ordered.

BOYD, ENGLAND, SUNDBERG and HATCHETT, JJ., concur. ROBERTS and ADKINS, JJ., dissent.

. Art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla.Const. . Workmen’s Compensation Law :

“440.14 Determination of pay. — Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the average weekly wages of the injured employee at the time of the injury shall be taken as the basis upon which to compute compensation and shall be determined subject to limitations of subsection (2) of § 440.12 as follows:
* * * % *

“(4) If it be established that the injured employee was a minor when injured, and that under normal conditions his wages should be expected to increase during the period of disability the fact may be considered in arriving at his average weekly wages.” § 440.14(4), Fla.Stat. (1973).


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Citator

Cited By (14 total)

  • Flesche v. Interstate Warehouse & U. S. Fid. & Guar. Co., 411 So. 2d 919 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)
    …8 So. 2d 161, 163 (Fla.1971). Of course, claimant’s physical or mental condition may be such that the absence of a job search is reasonable and justified. Chicken-'N'-Things v. Murray, 329 So. 2d 302 (Fla.1976); Sizemore v. Canaveral Port Authority, 332 So. 2d 23 (Fla.1976). . See, for example, Commercial Union Assurance Co. v. Hyman, 379 So. 2d 456 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980), and Pantry Pride v. Gonzalez, 382 So. 2d 818 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980). . See Section 440.15(3)(u), Florida Statutes (1977), providing that “dis…
  • Anderson v. S & S Diversified, Inc., 477 So. 2d 591 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985)
    …2d 161, 163 (Fla.1971). Of course, claimant’s physical or mental condition may be such that the total absence of a job search is reasonable and justified. Chicken-’N-Things v. Murray, 329 So. 2d 302 (Fla.1976); Sizemore v. Canaveral Port Authority, 332 So. 2d 23 (Fla.1976).6 However the work search rule may be stated in a specific opinion, we must remain cognizant that “the mere articulation of some work search deficiency under the facts of a particular case does not convert that element into an essential…
  • Wright v. Golf Drive Residence, Inc., 412 So. 2d 884 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)
    …f this evidence, to find that claimant’s entitlement to consideration of her wage-earning capacity loss was dependent upon a job search. Burger Chef of Bradenton v. Benedetto, 394 So. 2d 206 (Fla. 1st DGA 1981); Sizemore v. Canaveral Port Authority, 332 So. 2d 23 (Fla.1976); Chicken ’N’ Things v. Murray, 329 So. 2d 302 (Fla.1976). As for the claimant’s contention that the deputy commissioner erred in allowing a set-off for compensation previously paid for her permanent partial disability from a previous acc…

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