HERLEY SMITH, APPELLANT,
v.
CTL DISTRIBUTION AND COMMERCIAL CARRIER CORP., APPELLEES
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A workers' compensation claimant appeals an order denying wage loss benefits after December 28, 1992, based on a finding that his treating doctor withdrew all work-related physical restrictions. The First District Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the doctor's notation did not eliminate the claimant's work-related physical restrictions and that competent substantial evidence supports continued eligibility for wage loss benefits.
The claimant retains work-related physical restrictions notwithstanding the doctor's work release. The doctor's agreement to a work release did not constitute withdrawal of all physical restrictions; rather, the doctor maintained that the claimant has permanent impairment and remains restricted regarding heavy lifting. Therefore, the claimant is not disqualified from wage loss eligibility.
[1] Wage loss benefits in workers' compensation are conditioned upon a permanent impairment resulting in a work-related physical restriction affecting the ability to perform…
[2] A physician's statement that a patient is released to return to work without restriction does not preclude a finding of a continuing work-related physical restriction if…
Previewing 2 of 3 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“the judge has misconstrued the evidence in this case in finding that the claimant does not have a work-related physical restriction”
The court's primary holding that the lower court misinterpreted the evidence regarding the claimant's continued physical restrictions.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe claimant, a truck driver, suffered work-related injuries. On December 28, 1992, his treating doctor provided a work release, which the judge inter…
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ALLEN, Judge.
The claimant appeals a workers’ compensation order providing that after December 28, 1992, he “would not be eligible” for wage loss benefits. This determination was based on a finding that on that date the treating doctor withdrew all work-related physical restrictions.
However, the record indicates that the doctor merely acceded to the claimant’s desire to return to his former occupation as a truck driver. The doctor emphasized that this was not in the claimant’s best interest, and that he had advised the claimant to find some other line of work. Noting that the claimant had already disregarded an earlier prohibition against this endeavor, the doctor cautioned that such work would make it more difficult for the industrial injuries “to be resolved.” While the doctor suggested that this work would not necessarily cause further injury, and agreed with counsel’s description of the work release as being “without restriction,” the doctor nevertheless indicated that the claimant has a permanent impairment and remains restricted with regard to heavy lifting. The claimant testified that his new job as a truck driver is less strenuous than his former employment in this capacity, and that he now routinely engages a helper for unloading and lifting.
Section 440.15(3)(b)l, Florida Statutes (1989), conditions wage loss eligibility upon a permanent impairment which results in a work-related physical restriction affecting the ability to perform the activities of the worker’s usual or other appropriate employment. We conclude that the judge has misconstrued the evidence in this ease in finding that the claimant does not have a work-related physical restriction. Because the competent substantial evidence, when considered as a whole, does not support this finding, the claimant is not thereby disqualified from wage loss eligibility. The appealed order is therefore reversed, and the cause remanded.
KAHN and MICKLE, JJ., concur.