So concludes a five-year legal battle in a closely-watched workers’ compensation claim filed when a 53-year-old city firefighter suffered a serious back injury while moving furniture as he battled a blaze. Plaintiff was totally disabled and unable to work. But state legislators overhauled the state’s workers’ compensation system back in 2003 amid pressure from business and insurance lobbyists, ultimately cutting off temporary total disability benefits after just two years.

As plaintiff’s attorney later told the Orlando Sentinel, “For anyone that had continued disability, this is an important thing. You can’t arbitrarily say people aren’t going to get benefits after a magical time limit like this.” 

This is significant for those who have suffered a work-related personal injury because as a recent in-depth investigation by ProPublica revealed, worker benefits within the entire workers’ compensation system – the “grand bargain” between workers and their employers – has been eroded across the country in the last decade. The trade-off was always that workers were to be granted access to a no-fault system of benefits for work-related injuries, while forfeiting the right to sue the employer for negligence. Those benefits have been slowly chipped away by legislators in state after state, and yet, workers still don’t have the right to sue their employer.

The Westphal decision made it clear that when workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy to litigation, it must function as a reasonable alternative. Here, it did not. The state high court ruled that under article I, section 21 of the Florida Constitution, which prohibits denial of access to the courts, is trampled with this arbitrary cut-off date because it deprives the injured worker of disability benefits under these circumstances for an indefinite amount of time. Further, the court called Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeals’ effort to spare the statute from being deemed unconstitutional “valiant,” but ruled the judiciary does not have the authority to rewrite a statute that is plainly written – even the point is to avoid that law being found unconstitutional.

Specifically, the statute says that once a worker reaches a maximum of 104 weeks or maximum medical improvement – whichever comes sooner – the worker’s temporary total disability benefits are to cease and the injured worker’s permanent impairment shall be determined (F.S. 440.15(2)(a) ). However, the statute fails to ensure the worker is at that time legally entitled to receive permanent disability benefits. Neither does it provide that the worker will be automatically deemed to be at maximum medical improvement, based on the fact that temporary total disability benefits have stopped.

The end result, the court noted, is that the law severs disability benefits from workers at a critical juncture – when the worker can’t go back to work and is totally disabled, but the employer’s chosen physicians decide the worker might still medically improve.

The court was careful to say that in finding this provision unconstitutional, it does not mean the entire workers’ compensation system in Florida has to be scrapped. Instead, the court employed a “statutory revival” of the previous limit on temporary total disability benefits, which was 260 weeks, or five years. That time frame, it had been previously established, is constitutional.

The 5-2 ruling was the second recent victory for labor groups and plaintiff’s attorneys, as the court recently ruled in April that a law establishing limits on attorney’s fees in workers’ compensation cases was unlawful.

If you have been a victim of a Miami work injury, call Chalik & Chalik at (954) 476-1000 or 1 (800) 873-9040.

Additional Resources:

Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg, June 9, 2016, Florida Supreme Court

More Blog Entries:

GEICO v. Macedo – Auto Insurer Must Pay Plaintiff Attorney Fees, May 20, 2016, Miami Work Injury Lawyer Blog

According to news reports of the Titusville crash, a woman, her five daughters, her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s nephews – 11 people total – were piled into a Dodge Durango. The 34-year-old mother was behind the wheel. Suddenly, tire tread separation caused her to lose control of the vehicle on I-95 around 6:30 p.m. on Memorial Day.

The sport utility vehicle began to whip violently from side-to-side before it rolled over numerous times. One witness described the vehicle as launching some 25 to 30 feet in the air, before landing on a roof and spinning. Every single person inside the vehicle was ejected, including a toddler, who incredibly survived without major injuries, despite being thrown some 30 feet over a barrier wall. However, four of the five sisters did not live. 

The girls, ages 15, 14, 13 and 10, all perished. Three were pronounced dead at the scene and a fourth died later at the hospital. The 9-year-old sister survived. One had dreams of becoming a pediatrician. Another a cosmetologist. They were each remembered for their “beautiful spirits.”

The girls’ grandmother recalled receiving that awful call from her hysterical daughter, sobbing that she needed her mother because her girls were gone. The grandmother at first thought – even prayed – that it was a terrible dream.

Witnesses recall the woman and her boyfriend stumbling in the wreckage, trying desperately to locate each child. It took them time to find the toddler, given how far he’d been thrown.

Authorities say the vehicle was only designed to carry eight passengers. They later determined it was the left rear tire tread that separated.

Coincidentally, the crash occurred during National Tire Safety Week. The week is designed to raise awareness of tire tread safety ahead of long-distance summer road trips.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports improperly-inflated tires play a role in nearly 40 percent of all tire-related car accidents. That’s why they recommend checking each tire’s air pressure at least once a month. Most gas stations have air stations in which to fill up your tires.

With regard to tire tread, the main purpose of it is to separate the tire from water underneath so that vehicles don’t hydroplane. It’s imperative that drivers and vehicle owners check tires regularly for excessive or uneven wear. Safety experts recommend the “coin test.” That involves putting a quarter upside in the tire groove. If you can see all of Washington’s head, then it’s time to start shopping for new tires.You can do the same test with a penny.

While you’re checking the tire tread, give the entire tire a once-over. That means looking out for any bulges, cracks or cuts on the tire. Tires should be balanced periodically. Take a look at your vehicle manual to see if there are any specific recommendations for your exact vehicle. That manual should also contain information about exactly how much your tires should be inflated.

Authorities say the girls’ mother is not expected to face any charges, though she may receive a few traffic citations.That is nothing compared to the burden of grief she will likely carry with her the rest of her days.

If you have been a victim of a traffic accident, call Chalik & Chalik at (954) 476-1000 or 1 (800) 873-9040.

Additional Resources:

Four Leesburg sisters killed in Brevard crash, May 31, 2016, By Ryan Gillespie, Orlando Sentinel

More Blog Entries:

Car Accident Lawsuit Names Snapchat As Defendant, May 3, 2016, Miami Car Accident Lawyer Blog