Workers' Compensation
Listed below is McConnaughhay, Coonrod, Pope, Weaver & Stern, P.A.'s workers' compensation case law database. The database dates back until 1971 and includes over 5500 workers' compensation court decisions.
To view the case summaries, select one of the general topics listed below.
Palm Springs General Hospital v. Cabrera
22 FLW D2228
Employer/carrier filed motion for an evaluation by an
expert medical advisor pursuant to Section
440.13(9)(c), Florida Statutes (1995) one week prior to
final hearing. JCC denied motion as being untimely.
Appellate court reversed. The request for an evaluation
by an expert medical advisor was made with reasonable
promptness once a conflict in the medical opinions
surfaced and accordingly, even though the motion was
filed one week prior to the final hearing, the court
determined that this was not untimely.
The use of an expert medical advisor is contemplated
when there is a conflict in the medical opinions even
after a hearing has begun. In order to avoid the
untimely delay of a hearing with the use of expert
medical advisors, the JCC can order discovery cutoff
dates, require that medical witnesses be listed early
on, require that depositions be taken promptly after
medical witnesses are identified, require the exchange
of medical records and reports on an immediate and
ongoing basis, and otherwise "hold the parties' feet to
the fire" by requiring prompt pursuit of any discovery
designed to reveal conflicts in the medical evidence.
The requirement for the appointment of an expert
medical advisor when there is a conflict in the medical
evidence is mandatory and binding on the JCC. The
court rejected the finding of the judge that the
appointment of an expert medical advisor when there is
a conflict in the medical testimony is directory only
or that the evaluation by the expert medical advisor is
left to the discretion of the JCC.
