CATHY LIOTTA, APPELLANT,
v.
PUBLIX SUPERMARKET AND PUBLIX RISK MANAGEMENT, APPELLEES
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Florida appellate court dismissed Liotta's workers' compensation appeal as premature because the trial judge reserved jurisdiction by appointing a medical expert to resolve conflicting causation evidence before ruling on compensability.
An order appointing a medical expert advisor while reserving jurisdiction on compensability is nonfinal and nonappealable.
[1] An order appointing a medical expert advisor under section 440.13(9)(c), Florida Statutes, while reserving jurisdiction on the underlying compensability issue is nonfinal…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceCathy Liotta slipped and fell at work and sought temporary partial disability, temporary total disability, permanent total disability benefits, and au…
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PER CURIAM.
After Cathy Liotta slipped and fell at work, she sought temporary partial disability benefits, temporary total disability benefits, permanent total disability benefits, and authorization for back surgery she claimed her fall necessitated. Following a hearing on the merits, the judge of compensation claims entered an order denying indemnity benefits and appointing an expert medical advisor in accordance with section 440.13(9)(c), Florida Statutes (1997), because of conflict in the medical evidence as to causation of Ms. Liot-ta’s back problems. See Palm Springs Gen. Hosp. v. Cabrera, 698 So. 2d 1352 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997). Awaiting the expert medical advisor’s testimony on causation, the judge of compensation claims has not yet, as far as the record reveals, “rule[d] on a ripe issue that claimant properly presented for adjudication.” Betancourt v. Sears Roebuck & Co., 693 So. 2d 680, 682 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997). By appointing an expert medical advisor, the judge of compensation claims implicitly reserved jurisdiction to rule later on the compensability of the back surgery. This “renders the order nonfinal and nonappealable.” Id. “[A]n appeal from such an order will be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.” Id.
Dismissed.
BOOTH, BENTON and PADOVANO, JJ., concur.
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Citator
Authorities Cited
- Betancourt v. Sears Roebuck & Co. & Kemper Ins. Co., 693 So. 2d 680 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)
- Palm Springs Gen. Hosp. & Fla. Retail Fed'n SIF v. Cabrera, 698 So. 2d 1352 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)