MOTIVA AND RSK CO., APPELLANTS,
v.
SUSAN ALLAIN, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 2002-01-15
No. 1D01-143
BOOTH, BARFIELD and MINER, JJ., concur.
803 So. 2d 912 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2002)

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

Employer/Carrier appealed a workers' compensation judge's award of temporary total disability benefits and ongoing medical care to an employee injured at work. The appellate court reversed and remanded because the JCC failed to adequately address medical testimony regarding self-infliction of injury symptoms (Secretan's Syndrome) and made erroneous findings about expert testimony on causation.


Holding

The JCC failed to adequately address or explain its rejection of medical testimony regarding self-infliction and made erroneous findings regarding expert testimony. The case is remanded for the JCC to properly consider all expert testimony on causation and reach a proper decision, with the remaining issues on appeal affirmed.


Headnotes

[1] A workers' compensation judge may accept one doctor's testimony over others, but must provide record-supported reasons for rejecting conflicting medical opinions.

[2] A workers' compensation judge's order must accurately reflect the findings and opinions of medical experts regarding causation.

Previewing 2 of 4 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

Key Quotes

“The JCC is authorized to accept one doctor's testimony over that of others, but his reasons therefor must be supported by the record.”

Establishes the standard that while JCC discretion exists in evaluating conflicting medical testimony, the judge must provide reasoned explanations grounded in the record.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Claimant was injured on July 9, 1999, when a plastic number struck her left wrist while changing a sign at a gas station convenience store, causing pa…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

The Employer/Carrier appeal the JCC’s ruling that Claimant is entitled to temporary total compensation benefits and further medical care and attention arising out of a work-place injury occurring on July 9, 1999. Claimant was injured while changing a plastic number from a sign at the gas station at a convenience store where she worked. The plastic number struck Claimant’s left wrist, causing it to hurt, bleed, and swell. E/C immediately authorized treatment, and on July 12, 1999, Claimant was diagnosed with a contusion/crush injury to the left wrist and hand. Claimant continued to work until August 9,1999.

E/C do not dispute that Claimant was injured on July 9, 1999, and Claimant was paid benefits until the E/C concluded Claimant continued to self-inflict manifestations of her injury. We remand for further consideration.

E/C claim the JCC ignored or overlooked medical testimony that opined Claimant self-inflicted her injury, i.e., she caused her left wrist and hand to become extremely swollen by applying a tourniquet (such as a belt or rope) for a prolonged period. The JCC’s order does not address Dr. Harris’ diagnosis of Secretan’s Syndrome (self-inflicted lymph edema). The JCC’s order also erroneously states that Dr. Belsole found self-infliction was a differential diagnosis. Instead, Dr. Bel-sole testified within a reasonable degree of medical probability that the swelling in Claimant’s left arm was caused by either unintentional or intentional self-infliction. In conflicting testimony, Dr. Barsa believed that there may be some contributing underlying psychiatric and psychological problems, but that Claimant’s current pain and dysfunctions are significantly related to her industrial accident.

The JCC is authorized to accept one doctor’s testimony over that of others, but his reasons therefor must be supported by the record. See Fritz v. Courtyard By Marriott, 592 So. 2d 1167 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992); H & A Frank’s Const., Inc. v. Mendoza, 582 So. 2d 780 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). Here, the JCC gave no reason for rejecting Dr. Harris’s testimony, and made erroneous findings as to Dr. Belsole’s testimony.

Accordingly, we remand for further proceedings to allow the JCC to consider the testimony of Drs. Harris and Belsole, and to take additional evidence, if necessary, to reach a proper decision on causation. We affirm the remaining issues on appeal.

AFFIRMED IN PART; and REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings.

BOOTH, BARFIELD and MINER, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw