SOUTHLAND CORPORATION AND AMERICAN MOTORISTS INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLANTS,
v.
MINNIE JONES, APPELLEE
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In this workers' compensation appeal, the court affirmed most of an order awarding temporary total disability benefits to an injured claimant but reversed the award for the January 14 to April 8, 1980 period. The court held that temporary total disability cannot be established by claimant testimony alone without supporting medical evidence that the claimant was unable to work.
The court reversed the award of temporary total disability benefits for January 14 through April 8, 1980, holding that temporary total disability cannot be established by claimant's testimony alone regarding inability to work because of pain without supporting medical evidence documenting the disability.
[1] A workers' compensation award for temporary total disability benefits requires more than the claimant's testimony of inability to work due to pain; it necessitates suppor…
[2] A claimant's failure to seek medical treatment for an extended period after experiencing pain, and failure to follow physician's advice, can undermine claims of temporary…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“There is no record evidence, other than the claimant's testimony, showing she was temporarily and totally disabled between January 14 and April 8, 1980.”
Establishes the evidentiary deficiency that justified reversal of the award
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMinnie Jones was injured and received workers' compensation benefits. Her treating physician last examined her in October 1979, recommending traction …
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PER CURIAM.
Employer/Carrier appeal from a workers’ compensation order awarding claimant temporary total disability benefits from January 14, 1980, through the continuance of claimant’s temporary total disability. We affirm all aspects of the order except the award of temporary total disability benefits for the time period between January 14, 1980, and April 8, 1980.
There is no record evidence, other than the claimant’s testimony, showing she was temporarily and totally disabled between January 14 and April 8, 1980. The treating physician testified that he did not examine or treat the claimant between October 1979 and April 8, 1980, the date the claimant returned for treatment. He also testified that claimant had not obtained and utilized the traction apparatus that he had recommended in October 1979 when she returned to him on April 8,1980. Although claimant did work for one week at a nursing home in early February 1980, her testi mony that she left her employment because of pain is insufficient to support the award of temporary total disability since she did not seek medical treatment until almost two months later on April 8, 1980, and did not follow her physician’s advice regarding traction. There was no medical evidence showing that she was unable to work between January and April 1980. Where there is no medical evidence that the claimant was temporarily and totally disabled, total disability cannot be established merely by the claimant’s testimony of an inability to work because of pain. Cardinal Industries, Inc. v. Dawkins, 392 So. 2d 368 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981).
AFFIRMED in part and REVERSED in part.
ROBERT P. SMITH, Jr., C. J., and MILLS and SHIVERS, JJ., concur.
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Cited By
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SUN 'N Lake INN, Inc. v. Folsom, 426 So. 2d 1265 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)…’s testimony of inability to work, standing alone, does not afford a basis of competent substantial evidence to support an award of TTD compensation. Cardinal Industries, Inc. v. Dawkins, 392 So. 2d 368 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981); Southland Corp. v. Jones, 406 So. 2d 1291 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). The cases cited by appellants, however, involve situations where either no medical evidence supports the claimant’s testimony, or the medical evidence conflicts with the claimant’s testimony. Here it is clear from Dr. Massam’s t…
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Urquiza v. DON Greene Poultry, Inc., 81 So. 3d 545 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012)…Claimant had been informed he could return to work, and denied TTD benefits. Analysis Claimant’s entitlement to TTD benefits hinged on his submission of medical evidence, not lay evidence, in support of that request. See Southland Corp. v. Jones, 406 So. 2d 1291, 1292 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981) (reversing JCC’s award of TTD benefits during time period claimant offered no medical evidence of total disability, only her own testimony she was unable to work). Because Claimant submitted such evidence here, the burden s…
Authorities Cited
- Cardinal Indus., Inc. v. Dawkins, 392 So. 2d 368 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)