Cases

JCC denied permanent total disability benefits ruling that the claim for PT was not ripe for adjudication since maximum medical improvement had not been reached.  At the time of the hearing, the claimant had not reached maximum medical improvement according to the health care provider and was entitled to temporary partial benefits.  The parties stipulate that the claimant would be eligible for temporary partial disability benefits but for the expiration of 104 week eligibility limitation as found in Section 440.15(4)(e), Florida Statutes (2011).  The stipulation referenced the case Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg, 194 So. 3d 311 which determined that the 104 week limitation of benefits was unconstitutional as it applied to temporary total benefits.  The court concluded that the 104 week limitation would not apply to temporary partial benefits either.  Court determined that the Westphal decision applied also to temporary partial benefits for a limitation of 260 weeks.

JCC's opinion denying permanent total compensation as being premature was affirmed but for different reasons as stated by the JCC.  If a trial court reaches the right result but for the wrong reasons, it will be upheld if there is any basis to support the judgment in the record.  In this case, the JCC's conclusion that the claimant's permanent total disability claim was premature was correct not for the reason given by the JCC but based upon the reasoning and application of the Westphal decision.