Bynum Transport, Inc. v. Snyder, 1D99-2785.
| Decision Date | 05 June 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 1D99-2785.,1D99-2785. |
| Citation | 765 So.2d 752 |
| Parties | BYNUM TRANSPORT, INC., and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Appellants, v. Douglas SNYDER, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Laura L. Ferrante of Warpinski, Kellogg & Ferrante, Jacksonville, for Appellants.
Richard A. Kupfer, of Richard A. Kupfer, P.A., West Palm Beach; Louis P. Pfeffer, Lake Worth, for Appellee.
Appellants, Bynum Transport, Inc., and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, respectively the employer and carrier (E/C), appeal an order in which the judge of compensation claims (JCC) concluded that under section 440.20(4), Florida Statutes (1997), the E/C waived the right to deny compensability of hepatitis C contracted by claimant, Douglas Snyder, by failing to do so within 120 days after it had commenced providing such benefits. We affirm.
Snyder was driving a truck for Bynum Transport on November 11, 1997, when he lost control and crashed. The carrier paid benefits for head, neck, and back injuries. The E/C authorized treatment beginning February 9, 1998, with internist Dr. Bruce M. Grossman, who diagnosed Snyder as infected with hepatitis C. In a letter dated March 23, 1998, Dr. Grossman said he could not determine whether Snyder had contracted the disease from tattoos, prior blood contact, prior hepatitis C contact, or lying with open wounds after the truck accident in mud that might have been infected.
The carrier paid for some of the treatment related to the hepatitis C and then stopped payment. Snyder filed a petition for benefits on July 22, 1998, seeking a determination of the compensability of his hepatitis C condition, as well as for past and future care and treatment of hepatitis C by Dr. Grossman. The E/C never controverted the claim.
The JCC found that claimant's hepatitis C was compensable, because the E/C failed to deny compensability within 120 days after initiating payment of benefits therefor, pursuant to section 440.20(4), which provides:
If the carrier is uncertain of its obligation to provide benefits or compensation, it may initiate payment without prejudice and without admitting liability. The carrier shall immediately and in good faith commence investigation of the employee's entitlement to benefits under this chapter and shall admit or deny compensability within 120 days after the initial provision of compensation or benefits. Upon commencement of payment, the carrier shall provide written notice to the employee that it has elected to pay all or part of the claim pending further investigation, and that it will advise the employee of claim acceptance or denial within 120 days. A carrier that fails to deny compensability within 120 days after the initial provision of benefits or payment of compensation waives the right to deny compensability, unless the carrier can establish material facts relevant to the issue of compensability that it could not have discovered through reasonable investigation within the 120-day period.
The JCC acknowledged that the E/C had not informed claimant in writing that it was invoking the 120-day pay-and-investigate period, and that there was evidence that Snyder's infection was not related to his industrial...
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