Barfield v. Universal Forest Products, No. 1D01-250.
| Court | Court of Appeal of Florida (US) |
| Writing for the Court | PER CURIAM. |
| Citation | 813 So.2d 285 |
| Parties | Freddie BARFIELD, Appellant, v. UNIVERSAL FOREST PRODUCTS and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company; Integrated Health Services and Gallagher Bassett Services, Appellees. |
| Docket Number | No. 1D01-250. |
| Decision Date | 16 April 2002 |
813 So.2d 285
Freddie BARFIELD, Appellant,v.
UNIVERSAL FOREST PRODUCTS and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company; Integrated Health Services and Gallagher Bassett Services, Appellees
No. 1D01-250.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.
April 16, 2002.
Dean Burnetti, Lakeland, and Bill McCabe, Longwood, for Appellant.
J. Douglas Brown, III, and Theodore N. Goldstein of Rissman, Weisberg, Barrett, Hurt, Donahue & McLain, P.A., Orlando, for Appellee Universal Forest Products and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.
Jennifer Tipton Pollock, Tampa, for Appellee Integrated Health Services and Gallagher Bassett Services.
PER CURIAM.
The claimant appeals a workers' compensation order by which her claim for temporary partial disability and related benefits was denied. In the appealed order the judge indicated that he did not believe the claimant with regard to her continuing physical complaints, as they were inconsistent with other evidence and his observation of the claimant at the hearing. The judge also determined that the claimant's psychiatric condition was not shown to be related to the industrial accident.
The judge further found that the claimant had reached maximum medical improvement and that she was able to work, but that she had voluntarily limited her income. We conclude that there is adequate record support for these findings, and that the claim for benefits was therefore properly deniedThe claimant argues that the judge should have more fully accepted certain medical opinions which were accepted in part. However, the judge is not required to choose between entirely believing or disbelieving all of a doctor's opinions, and may instead credit and rely on those opinions which are deemed to be reasonable and believable. There is no logical inconsistency here with regard to the opinions which the judge accepted and those which were rejected, and this assessment is a proper exercise of the judge's fact-finding authority.
The claimant also argues that the judge should not have faulted her for failing to make a job search, as this is no longer specified in the Workers' Compensation Law as a necessary precondition for an award of benefits. But while a job search is not an absolute requirement it is still necessary for the claimant to show a causal connection between the industrial injury and a resulting loss of earnings, and an unsuccessful job search may be a pertinent factor in determining whether the claimant has...
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INTERIM SERVICES & SPECIALTY RISK SERVICES v. Levy, No. 1D02-0681.
...the totality of the circumstances as to the causal connection between the injury and wage loss. Barfield v. Universal Forest Prods., 813 So.2d 285 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002). However, the performance of a job search does not itself establish a causal relationship. Thompson v. City of Jacksonville,......
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Pierre v. R & S ASSEMBLY INC., No. 1D09-1805.
...job search may be a pertinent factor in determining whether the claimant has satisfied this burden." Barfield v. Universal Forest Prods., 813 So.2d 285 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002); see also Levy, 843 So.2d 915 (noting unsuccessful job search can be a factor in considering totality of circumstances ......
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PINAL v. TARGET WOODWORKS, No. 1D01-5090.
...Kagan, Rodriguez and Silver, P.A., West Palm Beach, for Appellee. PER CURIAM. AFFIRMED. See Barfield v. Universal Forest Products, 813 So.2d 285 (Fla. 1st DCA MINER, KAHN and WEBSTER, JJ., concur. ...
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Wright v. City of Rockledge, No. 1D01-0683.
...So.2d 1297 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995) (holding 78-week eligibility period for entitlement to wage loss benefits is a cumulative period, not an 813 So.2d 285 uninterrupted consecutive calendar Accordingly, the JCC's holding is REVERSED and the case REMANDED for proceedings consistent with this opin......
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INTERIM SERVICES & SPECIALTY RISK SERVICES v. Levy, No. 1D02-0681.
...the totality of the circumstances as to the causal connection between the injury and wage loss. Barfield v. Universal Forest Prods., 813 So.2d 285 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002). However, the performance of a job search does not itself establish a causal relationship. Thompson v. City of Jacksonville,......
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Pierre v. R & S ASSEMBLY INC., No. 1D09-1805.
...job search may be a pertinent factor in determining whether the claimant has satisfied this burden." Barfield v. Universal Forest Prods., 813 So.2d 285 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002); see also Levy, 843 So.2d 915 (noting unsuccessful job search can be a factor in considering totality of circumstances ......
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PINAL v. TARGET WOODWORKS, No. 1D01-5090.
...Kagan, Rodriguez and Silver, P.A., West Palm Beach, for Appellee. PER CURIAM. AFFIRMED. See Barfield v. Universal Forest Products, 813 So.2d 285 (Fla. 1st DCA MINER, KAHN and WEBSTER, JJ., concur. ...
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Wright v. City of Rockledge, No. 1D01-0683.
...So.2d 1297 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995) (holding 78-week eligibility period for entitlement to wage loss benefits is a cumulative period, not an 813 So.2d 285 uninterrupted consecutive calendar Accordingly, the JCC's holding is REVERSED and the case REMANDED for proceedings consistent with this opin......