Cases

Claimant's employment with the employer post-accident was terminated for economic reasons.  A claim was thereafter filed for temporary partial benefits and the employer/carrier defended by asserting that the claimant's wage loss was not causally related to his workplace injury.  JCC determined that temporary partial benefits were not payable since there was no causal connection between the claimant's unemployment status and the compensable accident.  JCC affirmed on appeal.

The JCC's order comes to the appellate court clothed in a presumption of correctness.  As such, the JCC's factual findings will not be disturbed unless the appellant can demonstrate no competent substantial evidence to support the JCC's order.  To obtain benefits, a claimant carries the initial burden of demonstrating a causal connection between his injury and subsequent wage loss.  Whether a claimant has established this requisite causal connection constitutes a question of fact determined by the JCC.  Although a job search is not an absolute prerequisite for an award of workers' compensation benefits, it is still necessary for the claimant to show a causal connection between the industrial injury and a resulting loss of earnings.  An unsuccessful job search may be a pertinent factor in determining whether the claimant has satisfied this burden of showing causal connection.  There was sufficient evidence in this case to support the JCC's conclusion that the claimant failed to establish the requisite causal link between his injury and loss of earnings.