Florida Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

Gov. Rick Scott recently signed into law HB 1087, which makes many minor changes to the Florida workers' compensation law. Most significantly, the bill allows workers' compensation insurance carriers to make payments of lost wages in the form of a pre-paid debit card. That would allow injured workers to use the card similar to any other form of debit card, for purchases of groceries, clothing, etc.. Prior to this change in the law, payments could only be in the form of bi-weekly checks or direct deposits.

An injured worker choosing the pre-paid debit card, must be able to: 1. Have at least one means of accessing weekly benefits without incurring fees and 2. They cannot make purchases which will cause any fees to the financial institution issuing the card.

This change in the law should be of some help to injured workers in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Deerfield Beach and Pompano Beach, according to workers' compensation attorney and lawyer Randy Zeldin, Esq. The "snail mail" method of sending checks is slow and cumbersome and often results in hardships for injured workers and many lost checks in the mail.

The Hon. Judith Pecko recently ordered the Broward Sheriff Office to pay workers' compensation benefits to one of its deputies, for an injury sustained in a motor vehicle accident. The case, Pulido v. Broward County Sheriff, Case No. 10-005599KSP, was litigated on behalf of the deputy, by Boca Raton workers' compensation attorney, Randy Zeldin, Esq.

In the case, Deputy Pulido, was a "floating" employee who could be assigned to one of several locations maintained by the Broward Sheriff's office during a given employment shift. On the night of the accident, Ms. Pulido was initially assigned to a location in Pompano Beach and before reaching the destination, was ordered by her supervisor to change direction and travel south to the main jail in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. En route on I-95, Ms. Pulido was involved in a motor vehicle accident and sustained injuries.

According to Deputy Pulido's Broward County workers' compensation attorney, Randy Zeldin, Esq., the Broward Sheriff Office took an "unreasonable and unjustifiable position" and denied all workers' compensation benefits, including lost wages and medical care. Ms. Pulido was forced to utilize sick leave and her major medical insurance.

Judge Judith Pecko rejected the positions of the Broward Sheriff Office. She ruled that Deputy Pulido was clearly engaged in employment at the time of her accident, serving the interests and needs of the Sheriff. The case is a victory for law enforcement officers throughout South Florida, who must risk their lives on the roadways while serving the community, according to Ft. Lauderdale workers' compensation attorney Randy Zeldin, Esq.

Continue reading "Broward Sheriff Office Ordered to Pay Deputy Workers' Compensation Benefits for Injuries Sustained In Motor Vehicle " »

Gubernatorial candidate and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, has announced that the Division of Workers' Compensation website, will now have an indemnity calculator. According to workers' compensation attorney Randy Zeldin, Esq., this new tool from the Division of Workers' Compensation, will be a great aid to injured workers. Randy Zeldin, Esq. regularly represents injured workers in Palm Beach and Broward Counties.

Under the Florida workers' compensation laws, an injured worker may be entitled to aide and attendant care. That means, under a physician's prescription, an injured worker may be entitled to skilled or unskilled assistance with activities of daily living. These typically include, assistance with bathing, dressing, hygiene, etc. For example, an injured worker recovering from shoulder surgery, could have a difficult time putting on a shirt or tying shoes. A nursing or other similar service can be prescribed to assist the injured worker during recovery.

These benefits have been reduced significantly over the years, due to changes in the laws, according to Boca Raton workers' compensation attorney Randy Zeldin, Esq. Most recently, one Court denied lawn care services to an injured. worker.

Incredibly, governmental entities in Florida, including State, County and City entities, are not required by Florida law to follow federal OSHA safety standards. This is particularly important, because Florida has one of the worst on-the-job accident rates out of the 50 States.

To date, the Florida legislature has failed to pass this critical legislation, being promoted by the Florida Public Task Force on Work Place Safety.

Boca Raton workers' compensation attorney Randy Zeldin, Esq., has seen many work place accident victims, due to OSHA violations throughout Palm Beach and Broward Counties. Attorney Randy Zeldin urges the Florida legislature to make OSHA a State priority to save lives and injuries.

There is a growing movement in Florida to make certain that employers comply with all OSHA
regulations. The efforts of the The Florida Public Taskforce on Workplace Safety, are fully supported by Boca Raton workers' compensation attorney Randy Zeldin, Esq. The Florida Legislature should support proposed legislation, which according to Florida workers' compensation attorney Randy Zeldin, Esq., would greatly improve the legal standard for workplace safety.

What happens if a worker has an accident on the job and the Employer denies that the injury is related to the accident? The Employee may sue the Employer if there was some form of negligence. In effect, the injured worker may treat the event as a conventional personal injury claim. This change in the law is the result of a decision called Schroeder v. Peoplease Corp.

Continue reading "Employer May Be Sued for Denying Workers' Compensation Claim" »

The workers' compensation and Social Security Disability law office of Randy Zeldin, is pleased to announce that Sangitha Palaniappa has joined the staff. "Sangi" as she is nicknamed, is pursuing studies in political science with the intent to earn a law degree. She brings her expertise to all facets of Randy Zeldin's law practice, which services all of Palm Beach and Broward Counties.

Ms. Palaniappa, is fluent in the Tamil and Spanish languages. She is an expert in Baharatnatyam dance.

A disturbing trend in workers' compensation litigation is the defense of "major contributing cause." This means that if the need for medical care is not 51% or greater due to the workers' compensation injury, medical care will be shut down!

Randy Zeldin, a workers' compensation attorney in Boca Raton, has been litigating many more cases with this defense asserted. Recently, a laborer with a documented herniated cervical disc, was denied permission for surgery, because an "independent" orthopedist chosen by the carrier, found that the injury was mostly degenerative.

Continue reading "Medical Benefits Being Denied to Injured Workers!" »

Work in South Florida can be hazardous or even fatal your health. According to the AFL-CIO, across the U.S., an average of 15 workers are killed on the job daily and another 11,000 suffered on the job injuries each day!! Studies have demonstrated that the actual toll is higher, because many injuries are never reported because of fear of retribution.

Workers' compensation attorney Randy Zeldin of Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale, joins the AFL-CIO in calling for improved workplace safety.

Florida has one of the worst records of workers' compensation injuries in the U.S. Thousands of workers in Broward and Palm Beach, including Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach will be injured in 2009! For this reason, it is important that your employer institute a workplace safety plan. The American Heart Association recommends that there be a plan, in which all employees practice.

Attorney Randy Zeldin of Boca Raton, can provide you with more detailed information about workers' compensation laws and remedies.

Many clients contact Randy Zeldin, Boca Raton workers' compensation attorney, to inquire whether heart attacks are covered injuries. The answer is not simple. It is clear that if the heart attack was the result of a mental or nervous injury alone, they are not covered injuries. In a recent case, Speed v. Securities, the First District Court of Appeals required coverage for a heart attack, for a borderline injury. The worker was in an elevator which malfunctioned and dropped, causing the man to experience a 'stress response' and afterwards a heart attack.

The Court reasoned that this was not a mental or nervous injury, but a physical injury, which was at least 51% responsible for the heart attack. The insurance company did not present evidence to refute the claim. Contact Randy Zeldin, Esq., with offices in Boca Raton, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, to discuss any issues you may face concerning a heart attack.

Florida law requires that any employer with 4 or more employees must purchase workers' compensation coverage. Despite the law, many employers fail to obtain the required coverage. The Florida Department of Financial Services, the enforcement arm of workers' compensation, conducted 27, 674 on-site investigations of employers during fiscal year 2008. Of those investigations, 2,518 employers were breaking the law and were ordered to cease operations until workers' compensation insurance was obtained.

Randy Zeldin, Esq., a workers' compensation attorney with offices in Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Boca Raton, has seen many injured workers unable to collect workers' compensation benefits. If an employer has no coverage, it often means that they are not "solvent" and without assets. "You can't get blood from a stone" observes Randy Zeldin-no workers' compensation coverage often means no funds to pay injured workers.

Continue reading "Florida Epidemic of Employers Without Work Comp" »

Workplace safety in Florida is near the bottom of all 50 States. Construction injuries in South Florida rank among the highest in the country. Florida Chief Financial Officer, Alex Sink, recognizes the problem and has begun classes to assist employers with safety improvements. The classes will provide information on the Florida workers' compensation law, when exemptions apply, what resources are available to help employers and contractors and training on workplace safety.

The State of Florida has certainly improved its record on enforcing compliance with workers' compensation laws. Last year, 2,518 businesses were shut down by the State of Florida, because of failure to obtain workers' compensation coverage.

According to attorney Randy Zeldin, Esq. of Boca Raton, South Floridian workers will be subjected to dangerous workplaces into the future. The penalties and enforcement mechanisms must be made "very severe" according to attorney Zeldin, before things will change in a meaningful way. Further, OSHA has been gutted of a budget and its absence continues to contribute to workplace injuries.

Many workers in the South Florida region, from Deerfield Beach to Boynton Beach, are injured due to exposure to toxic chemicals or substances at work. Virtually all workers, from construction workers to secretaries, can be regularly exposed to chemical substances which result in injury. The current workers' compensation law places very high levels of evidence in order to obtain medical care and other benefits. Specifically, an injured worker must prove the exact substance by name which caused the exposure! This is often impossible or unduly expensive to prove. Further, the worker must prove the mathematical level of exposure!

This unrealistic burden has led to many cases of chemical exposure being denied by the Courts. In one recent case, Matrix Employee Leasing v. Pierce, a worker suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The Judge of Compensation Claim denied all benefits, because the poor worker couldn't prove with medical evidence the exact chemical exposure or level of exposure. As a result, the Court shut down his medical care.

The law office of Randy Zeldin has represented many workers who were injured by chemical exposures, in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Gov. Christ and the Florida Legislature must re-examine the current state of the law, so that benefits are obtainable by workers who need the medical care.

Workers' compensation attorneys throughout South Florida have recently ranked all of the Judges of Compensation Claims. This first time "poll" is the thoughtful innovation of Chief Judge of Compensation Claims, David Langham. The results of the poll, show that a high percentage of the Judges of Compensation Claims throughout South Florida, are doing an excellent job. Some of the Judges with outstanding rankings include Mary D'Ambrosio, Timothy Basquill; Sylvia Medina-Shore and Daniel Lewis, among many others. Chief Judge Langham also received a well deserved excellent review.

Gov. Charlie Christ will have the opportunity to appoint two new workers' compensation judges in Gainesville and Jacksonville. Randy Zeldin, workers' compensation attorney of Boca Raton and Deerfield Beach, is confident that Gov. Christ will make quality appointments from the many distinguished candidates nominated by the Judicial Nominating Committee

There is ongoing talk that the Florida Legislature will meet in Special Session in January 2009, to consider changes to the existing workers' compensation laws. The Workers' Compensation Section of the Florida Bar, has met with Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink to urge that her office conduct a thorough examination of how the workers' compensation law has worked and what modifications should be considered.

In the 2008 Legislative Session, a sweeping bill was introduced by Sen. Alex Villalobos,
(Senate Bill No. 2548), which had some promising reforms. Unfortunately, the bill died in committee and was never considered by the Florida Legislature. One of the most important changes in the Villalobos bill, was regarding choice of physician. Currently, choice and control over the physician, except in managed care cases, is largely with the insurance carrier. The Villalobos bill would have guaranteed that an injured worker would have at least one doctor of his or her choice, as long as the physician was properly licensed and regulated. Randy Zeldin, Esq., with offices in Boca Raton and Pompano Beach, is optimistic that Gov. Christ will be supportive of workers' compensation reform.

The Florida Legislature radically reformed the workers' compensation law beginning October 2003. One of the most significant changes was the legal standard for proving that an injured worker could not return to work for life. This concept is called permanent and total disability. Specifically, the law was changed to deny permanent and total disability benefits to any worker physically capable of sedentary employment. This standard has made it so difficult to prove permanent and total disability, that only 33 cases have been successfully litigated since the law was changed!

Fortunately, the appellate courts have stepped in to give some relief to seriously injured workers. Two cases, Walmart v. Thompson and Ferrell Gas v. Childusers, have eased the burden. The judges reasoned that in addition to physical restrictions, the Judge of Compensation Claims can consider vocational testimony. That is, the Court can look at the aptitude, education, job experience and other measurements of an injured workers' ability to find and keep employment. Even if a worker could theoretically perform sedentary work, that doesn't mean that the injured could find, perform or keep such a job.

Continue reading "South Florida Injured Workers Eligible for Permanent and Total Disability" »

For many years, Florida law enforcement officers and firefighters have benefited from the "heart and lung bill" presumption in the Florida workers' compensation laws. Specifically, the law presumes that heart disease and hypertension are work related, if the injured party is a firefighter or law enforcement officer. This presumption makes it far easier for these law enforcement and firefighters to get the benefits that they deserve.

New medical evidence now supports the fact that police officers, who face extreme stress on a regular basis, are at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Many police officers are currently enrolled in the Buffalo CardioMetabolic-Occupational Police Stress ("BCOPS") Study. The project is being conducted by the University of Buffalo.

Many firefighters and police officers in Boca Raton and Palm Beach County have regularly received workers' compensation benefits, as a result of the "heart and lung bill" presumption. More recently, the benefit was expanded to include correction officers.

If you ask any Florida Workers' Compensation attorney, they will tell you that back, also known as lumbar injuries, are the most common. That has certainly been the case in my practice. Many Florida workers, from a secretary to a construction laborer, are prone to back injuries. In fact, back injuries and pain are the most common reason for absences from work, second only to the common cold.

According to NIOSH (the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health), it is not recommended that any worker lift more than 50 pounds, without assistance. The law offices of Randy Zeldin recommends that Florida workers ask the employer for help and assistance, if ever asked to lift greater than 50 pounds. Although this might antagonize some employers, it is your back!

NIOSH also recommends the following to prevent on the job back injuries:

1. Lifting should be done by bending the knees. Keeping one's elbows as close as feasible to the side of your body helps keep the object near the center of gravity and forces use of one's knees.

2. Strengthening of the muscles that support the spine is very important. Florida workers are encouraged to do back, abdominal and buttocks exercises.

The great majority of lumbar injuries will heal after a few months. If symptoms worsen or include leg pain, weakness or numbness, this could be a serious injury requiring a specialist. In my practice, I have seen too many family and general practitioners handle back injuries, long after it would have been appropriate to have a neurologist or orthopedist on the case. The law offices of Randy Zeldin has had to litigate many cases to bring a lumbar or back specialist into the case.

The law office of Randy Zeldin recently represented an electrical worker who suffered severe injuries as the result of an electrocution. This worker came to Florida from the Midwest, to help with rebuilding the electrical grid caused by devastating hurricanes in 2005. Unfortunately, the workers was reinstalling an electrical wire and suffered burns and orthopedic injuries.

I decided to do some research and came across some surprising facts. According to the National Institute for Safety and Health ("NIOSH"), contact with electricity is the fourth leading cause of death at construction sites. Further research revealed that electrocution death are highest among electrical power installers and earth drillers, as reported by the Center for Construction Research and Training ("CCRT"). CCRT also reports that the highest numbers of deaths among construction workers are found with electricians, construction laborers, supervisors/managers and electrical power repair persons.

Continue reading "Electrocution injuries pose threat to Florida workers" »

You may be surprised to learn, that America has one of the highest rates of work place accidents in the developed world. Florida in particular ranks near the bottom of all 50 States for workplace injuries, particularly construction related injuries. Although June was National Safety Month, nearly 4 out of every 10 American men have been wounded at work! This means that 36% of ALL American male workers have suffered or continue to suffer from on the job injuries. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has catalogued more than 4 million non-fatal workers' compensation injuries in 2006. Of those work place injuries, BLS reports that 43% of injured workers' missed more than one week of work and an incredible 31% were out of work for more than one month! Think of the burden on these injured workers and their families!

There are many reasons for this disturbing trend. Under the administration of Pres. George W. Bush, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration ("OSHA") has been slashed in terms of budget and effort. In prior years, the local Florida OSHA officials were quite diligent about investigating serious on the job injuries. Over the past couple of years, the law office of Randy Zeldin has witnessed a decline in investigations done by OSHA for job injuries. It seems that unless there is an actual death on the job, Florida OSHA officials are not interested and infrequently investigate.

Continue reading "The Florida workplace is dangerous!" »

The Florida Supreme Court is poised to hand down an historic decision, which will have great impact on the benefits that injured Florida workers will get or not get. The case, Murray v. Mariners Health, will decide whether the Florida Judges of Compensation Claims can award attorney fees to injured workers, based on the number of hours the Claimant's attorney has spent litigating issues in the case. In the Murray case, the injured worker Ms. Murray was denied all benefits by her insurance carrier. After nearly 85 hours of litigation, the Judge of Compensation Claims ruled for Ms. Murray and she received all workers' compensation benefits to which she was entitled. Her diligent attorney however, was only awarded $684.84, which is equal to $8.11 per hour!

The Murray case is part of a trend I have seen in my 23 years of practice: smaller benefits for injured workers and small fees for the attorneys representing them. Unfortunately, the biggest blow to injured workers was the handiwork of former Gov. Jeb Bush and his Republican allies in the Florida Legislature who devastated the workers' compensation law beginning October 31, 2003. This law, known as Senate Bill 50A, heavily limited many rights and benefits of injured workers.

Continue reading "Florida Injured Workers in Hands of Florida Supreme Court" »