TURNBERRY ISLE COUNTRY CLUB AND LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE CO., APPELLANTS,
v.
MANUEL REYES AND THE DIVISION OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION, APPELLEES

Fla. 1st DCA | 1985-03-26
No. AZ-172
MILLS and BARFIELD, JJ., concur.
469 So. 2d 787 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1985) Caution
Cited by 6 cases

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

Turnberry Isle Country Club and its insurer appealed a workers' compensation order awarding temporary total disability benefits and medical bill payments to an employee injured by a chemical splash. The court affirmed the disability award but remanded for a hearing on the medical bills to establish proper evidentiary foundation and good cause to excuse non-compliance with statutory reporting requirements.


Holding

The court affirmed the award of temporary total disability benefits but remanded for a hearing to take evidence on the medical bills and for the deputy to make explicit findings of 'good cause' to excuse non-compliance with Section 440.13(1) before ordering payment.


Headnotes

[1] A workers' compensation order awarding temporary total disability benefits will be affirmed if no error is found.

[2] A workers' compensation claim may be remanded for a hearing and further evidence on the payment of medical bills.

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Key Quotes

“Implicit in the deputy's order directing payment of the medical bills is a finding of "good cause" to excuse the non-reporting requirements of Section 440.13(1), Florida Statutes (1981).”

Establishes that the deputy's order implicitly included a good cause finding, but remand is needed to make this explicit.

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Facts & Procedural History

Claimant Manuel Reyes, a pot washer at Turnberry Isle Country Club, suffered a burn to his right eye and eyelid when he slipped on a wet floor while c…

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Opinion of the Court
JOANOS, Judge.

JOANOS, Judge.

The employer and carrier seek review of a workers’ compensation order awarding temporary total disability benefits and payment of medical bills. We find no error in the award of temporary total disability benefits and affirm the order in this regard. We remand this cause to the deputy, however, with directions to conduct a hearing and to take further evidence on the medical bills.

Claimant suffered a burn to his right eye and right eyelid while employed as a pot washer for the employer, Turnberry Isle Country Club. As claimant was cleaning a metal grill with a liquid called “Foam Free,” he slipped on a wet floor and fell backwards. The container of “Foam Free” hit the floor and some of its contents splashed in claimant’s right eye, and inside the rubber glove he was wearing. Claimant’s co-workers washed his eye with water, and he was taken to the hospital emergency room. After lengthy irrigation of his eye, claimant was sent home with directions to see Dr. Lawrence Reese, an ophthalmologist. Dr. Reese examined claimant the day after the accident and referred him to Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. In addition to the treatment rendered by Dr. Henry Gelender at Bascom Palmer and the emergency room treatment provided by the staff at Biscayne Medical Center, claimant was subsequently treated or examined by numerous other medical care providers. These medical care providers were listed in the pre-trial stipulation and their medical reports and testimony have been made a part of the record, although the medical bills were not placed in evidence.

The employer and carrier contend the deputy erred in awarding payment of the medical bills, alleging that claimant failed to comply with the provisions of Section 440.13(1), Florida Statutes (1981). Claimant concedes that the medical bills should have been put in evidence. On remand, any doubt concerning the amount of these bills “can and should be removed ... by the submission of written bills or statements to be received and marked as exhibits in the case.” American Grinding & Equipment v. Rodman, 411 So. 2d 917, 918 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982).

Implicit in the deputy’s order directing payment of the medical bills is a finding of “good cause” to excuse the non-reporting requirements of Section 440.13(1), Florida Statutes (1981). Good cause has been shown in cases where there are complex factual circumstances or a confused legal situation, or where the employer waives the requirement of Section 440.13(1) with actual knowledge of the medical care provided. See: Carter v. American Finnish Nursing Home, 450. So. 2d 1262 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Walt Disney World Co. v. Schiebel, 414 So. 2d 602 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982). On remand, “it is necessary for the deputy to find ‘good cause’ to excuse noncompliance with the' requirements of Section 440.13(1), Florida Statutes, before ordering payment by the E/C.” American Grinding, at 918.

We remand for further proceedings and findings with respect to payment of the medical bills.

MILLS and BARFIELD, JJ., concur.

Other
JOANOS, Judge.

JOANOS, Judge.

Upon consideration of appellant’s allegations in the petition for rehearing we agree that the portion of the deputy commissioner’s order which directed employer/carrier to pay claimant temporary total disability benefits “from January 17, 1982 up to the present date and continuously thereafter until such time as the claimant has reached maximum medical improvement” should be modified to read:

Employer/Carrier is to pay the claimant temporary total disability benefits from January 17, 1982 up to the present date and continuously thereafter until such time as the claimant has reached maximum medical improvement or is able to return to work.

See: Miami-Dade Water & Sewer Authority v. Leech, 447 So. 2d 979, 981 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). We, therefore, so modify the deputy commissioner’s order. In all other respects the petition for rehearing is denied.

MILLS and BARFIELD, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • …" should be amended to read “until claimant is no longer temporarily and totally disabled or is able to return to work, whichever occurs first.” Although this court reworded a temporary total disability award in Turnberry Isle Country Club v. Reyes, 469 So. 2d 787 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985), and similarly reworded an order in Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Authority v. Leech, 447 So. 2d [*304] 979 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984), the instant case is distinguishable. The rewording in both cited cases was necessary because the order…
  • Station Managers, Inc. v. Grover, 471 So. 2d 118 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985)
    …al evidence in accordance with logic and reason and we therefore affirm the order on appeal, with the exception that we remand the case to the deputy to allow the claimant to place his medical bills in evidence. Turnberry Isle Country Club v. Reyes, 469 So. 2d 787 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985); American Grinding & Equipment v. Rodman, 411 So. 2d 917 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982). BOOTH and WIGGINTON, JJ., concur.…
  • …ability benefits from January, 17, 1982, until claimant reached maximum medical improvement or resumed working. This court affirmed the order, but directed that further evidence be taken regarding medical bills. Turnberry Isle Country Club v. Reyes, 469 So. 2d 787 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985). After remand, the deputy commissioner entered an order directing the employer and carrier to pay certain medical bills. After a separate attorney’s fee hearing, the deputy commissioner awarded costs in the amount of $1,617.91 an…

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