City of Jacksonville Police Dept. v. Hobbs
| Decision Date | 24 March 1971 |
| Docket Number | No. 39915,39915 |
| Parties | CITY OF JACKSONVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT and Continental National American Group, Petitioners, v. Cecil E. HOBBS and Florida Department of Commerce, Industrial Relations Commission, Respondents. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Walter L. Robison of Mathews, Osborne & Ehrlich, Jacksonville, for petitioners.
John F. Cuddy of Howell, Kirby, Montgomery & D'Aiuto, Jacksonville, Patrick H. Mears and J. Franklin Garner, Tallahassee, for respondents.
In this workman's compensation case, we are primarily concerned with an alleged connection between injuries to a claimant's left leg sustained in a work-related accident, and an outbreak of cancer in that leg approximately thirteen months thereafter. In January 1968, respondent-claimant Hobbs was driving a police car when he was involved in an accident with another car at an intersection. As claimant lurched forward on impact, his left leg hit the left front door. Claimant reported to the investigating officer that he was experiencing pain in his left knee and his left thigh. No injuries were visible; the pain was in the nature of a 'Charley horse.' No medical treatment was sought.
The claimant testified below that his pains disappeared within two weeks after the accident. He said that about five months later, he began to experience aches in his thigh whenever he had been standing for a considerable period of time, such as when he played golf. He further testified that a noticeable swelling of his left thigh appeared in November and that his discomforture increased steadily until he consulted physicians in February 1969.
His first treating physician diagnosed that a blood clot was possibly the cause of the discomfort. The rest and medication prescribed failed to effect a cure. Claimant was then referred to Dr. George Fipp, an orthopedist. This latter physician tentatively diagnosed a soft tissue tumor in the left thigh; a biopsy confirmed that claimant was afflicted with rhabdomyosarcoma, a form of malignant tumor of a striated muscle. The left leg was amputated by Dr. Fipp and a claim for compensation was lodged below.
The claimant's theory was that the accident of January 1968, had given rise to an incipient tumor which did not manifest itself until February 1969, or later. The employer and its carrier defended on the grounds that the tumor was not causally related to the accident; that proper medical reports were not filed; that the employer and carrier had no notice of injury; and, that the medical treatment was unauthorized and not properly the responsibility of the employer or carrier.
After considering the testimony and depositions entered below, the Judge of Industrial Claims determined that the claim was valid. It was also determined that defects in notification and in the filing of reports was not a bar to the claim since the manifestations of the disease were not discoverable until February 1969. The Full Commission majority affirmed on the principle that it would not substitute its judgment for that of the Judge below. But the dissenting Commission Member strongly urged that the judgment affirmed by the majority was not supported by competent, substantial evidence.
We are in agreement with the dissenting Commission Member. The judgment that the accident of January 26, 1968, was causally related to the onset of rhabdomyosarcoma was not supported by competent, substantial evidence. In Harris v. Josephs of Greater Miami, Inc., 122 So.2d 561, 562 (Fla.1960), we stated the rule applicable today: 'There must be some clear evidence rather than speculation or conjecture establishing a causal connection between a claimant's injury and her (his) employment.'
Rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare form of cancer about which little is known except that it progresses rapidly. Dr....
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Munroe Memorial Hospital v. Thompson, RR-97
...a causal connection between the claimant's work-related accident and her later physical disabilities. See City of Jacksonville Police Dept. v. Hobbs, 246 So.2d 561-62 (Fla.1971). One doctor could not state the cause of the claimant's knee condition, while the testimony of another doctor in ......
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Victoria Hospital v. Perez, TT-440
...Causal relationship must be supported by competent and substantial evidence, not mere speculation. City of Jacksonville Police Department v. Hobbs, 246 So.2d 561 (Fla.1971); Simmons v. Stanley, 197 So.2d 514 REVERSED and REMANDED for reconsideration consistent with this opinion. McCORD and ......