JUDY POSPISIL, APPELLANT,
v.
OSMOND LINCOLN MERCURY AND HARTFORD FIRE INSURANCE, APPELLEES
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Florida appellate court reversed denial of statutory impairment benefits, holding that an employee is entitled to impairment benefits upon exhaustion of temporary disability benefits regardless of whether maximum medical improvement has been reached.
An employee is entitled to statutory impairment benefits beginning the day after exhaustion of temporary disability benefits or upon reaching maximum medical improvement, whichever occurs earlier, with no gap period permitted between benefit types.
[1] An employee is entitled to statutory impairment benefits upon exhaustion of temporary disability benefits without a gap period, even if maximum medical improvement has no…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“An employee's entitlement to impairment benefits begins the day after the employee reaches maximum medical improvement or the expiration of temporary benefits, whichever occurs earlier § 440.15(3)(a)3, Fla. Stat. (1997).”
Statement of applicable statutory provision governing impairment benefits eligibility.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePospisil exhausted her statutorily-limited 104 weeks of temporary disability benefits and sought impairment benefits; evidence of permanent impairment…
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KAHN, J.
Although the Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) did not err in calculation of average weekly wage, the JCC did err by refusing to award statutory impairment benefits. “An employee’s entitlement to impairment benefits begins the day after the employee reaches maximum medical improvement or the expiration of temporary benefits, whichever occurs earlier § 440.15(3)(a)3, Fla. Stat. (1997). Here, it is undisputed that claimant sought impairment benefits after exhausting her statutorily-limited 104 weeks of temporary disability. Although the evidence concerning maximum medical improvement was in dispute, claimant produced testimony of permanent impairment from at least two physicians. “The legislature clearly contemplated that temporary indemnity benefits may expire before a claimant has reached maximum medical improvement and provided for the alternative of impairment benefits.” Integrated Adm’rs v. Sackett, 799 So. 2d 448, 449 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001). Contrary to the argument made by the appellees in the present case, the Legislature apparently did not contemplate that a gap period of no benefits would intervene between the expiration of temporary indemnity benefits and payment of impairment benefits.
REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings.
ALLEN, C.J., and ERVIN, J., CONCUR.
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Citator
Authorities Cited
- Integrated Administrators & Wal Mart Store v. Sackett, 799 So. 2d 448 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)