Cases

Injured worker settled workers' compensation claim and invested settlement proceeds in certificate of deposit. Thereafter, claimant pledged CD as security for a loan from bank. Claimant asserted that CD was exempt from claim of creditor bank pursuant to Section 440.22, Florida Statutes and the case of Broward v. Jacksonville Medical Center, 690 So.2d 589 which extended the exemption of Section 440.22 to traceable proceeds of a workers' compensation settlement in a bank account. Court determined, however, that Broward did not apply because in that case, the judgment debtor had not been specifically granted an interest in the bank account as the bank had in this instance. Claimant, in this instance, had specifically pledged the proceeds of the settlement after they had been received. Court determined that once workers' compensation benefits had been received by a beneficiary, no statutory restrictions apply to the use of those benefits by the beneficiary. This control includes the ability to pledge the funds as collateral for a loan after the funds had been received.