City of Cocoa v. Adams, AJ-155

• Decision Date: 14 September 1982
• Docket Number: No. AJ-155,AJ-155
• Citation: 419 So.2d 720
• Parties: CITY OF COCOA and Continental Insurance Company, Appellants, v. Ruby L. ADAMS, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 720

419 So.2d 720

CITY OF COCOA and Continental Insurance Company, Appellants, v. Ruby L. ADAMS, Appellee.

No. AJ-155.

District Court of Appeal of Florida First District.

Sept. 14, 1982.

Rehearing Denied Oct. 6, 1982.

Ronald S. Webster of Whittaker, Pyle, Stump & Webster, Orlando, for appellants.

Gabriel H. Blumenthal of Blumenthal, Schwartz & Riley, Titusville, for appellee.

THOMPSON, Judge.

The employer/carrier (E/C) appeal a workers' compensation order, contending, inter alia, that the deputy commissioner (deputy) erred in awarding temporary total disability (TTD) benefits and wage loss benefits, and in finding that the E/C exhibited bad faith in its handling of the claim, and was therefore obligated to pay claimant's attorney's fees pursuant to § 440.34(3)(b), Fla.Stat. We agree and reverse as to these issues, but we conclude that the E/C's remaining contentions are without merit.

The claimant is a 33-year-old woman who sustained a compensable back injury on March 20, 1980, while working as a garbage collector for the employer. She sought treatment from Dr. Appen, a family practitioner who saw her on three occasions after the accident. Dr. Appen found no objective signs of injury, and he released claimant as having reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) and as being able to return to work as of April 7, 1980. However, Dr. Appen recommended to the employer that claimant be given a new job assignment, since he was of the opinion that she would be unable to continue to perform the heavy lifting tasks of a garbage collector without re-injuring her back. The employer thereafter offered claimant less strenuous work as a groundskeeper, but claimant refused to accept the position and her employment was then terminated.

On August 14, 1980 claimant sought treatment from Dr. Maxwell, an orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Maxwell diagnosed chronic lumbar sprain superimposed upon congenital scoliosis, and prescribed a course of physical therapy. On November 14, 1980, Dr. Maxwell discharged claimant as having reached MMI with a 25% permanent impairment of the body as a whole. Dr. Maxwell placed restrictions on claimant's activities with respect to heavy lifting, repetitive bending, and working from ladders or scaffolds. Dr. Maxwell testified that during the period when he was treating the claimant she was disabled from performing strenuous manual labor, but that she was capable of performing work of a light and sedentary nature. Because the medical evidence showed that the claimant was not totally disabled, and because the claimant admitted that she made no work search until sometime after February 19, 1981, the award of TTD benefits for the entire period from the date of the accident to the date of MMI was erroneous, and is reversed. Similarly, the award of wage loss benefits must be reversed...