Jefferson Stores, Inc. v. Rosenfeld, RR-84
| Decision Date | 14 August 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. RR-84,RR-84 |
| Citation | 386 So.2d 865 |
| Parties | JEFFERSON STORES, INC., Appellant, v. Irving ROSENFELD, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Mark A. Seff, of Fuller & Feingold, Miami Beach, for appellant.
Harold R. Cohen and Israel Abrams, P. A., North Miami Beach, of Abrams & Suskin, North Miami Beach, for appellee.
The employer appeals a worker's compensation order, which we affirm, and by which the claimant was found to be permanently partially disabled and awarded appropriate benefits. At the hearing on the claim, several doctors testified: claimant's treating physician opined a five to ten percent permanent partial impairment; an examining physician opined a seven and one-half percent permanent partial impairment; and an examining chiropractor opined a ten to fifteen percent permanent partial impairment. The order appealed recites these opinions and finds that the claimant sustained a fifteen percent permanent partial impairment, noting that the chiropractor's testimony was "thorough and convincing opinion . . . and evaluation . . . ." Appellant asserts that the order does not adequately explain the reasons for accepting the chiropractor's testimony rather than that of the other doctors.
It is the deputy's function to determine credibility and resolve conflicts in the evidence, Grillo v. Big "B" Ranch, 328 So.2d 429 (Fla.1976), and he may accept the testimony of one physician over that of several others, Crowell v. Messana, 180 So.2d 329 (Fla.1965). The deputy "need make only such findings of ultimate material facts upon which he relies, as are sufficient justification to show the basis of an award . . . ." Pierce v. Piper Aircraft Corp., 279 So.2d 281 (Fla.1973); see also, Vargas v. Americana of Bal Harbour, 345 So.2d 1052 (Fla.1976). He need not explain precisely why he accepts the testimony of one witness and rejects that of another as long as it does not appear that he ignored or overlooked contrary testimony. Buro v. Dino's Southland Meats, 354 So.2d 874 (Fla.1978).
In the present case, it is clear that the deputy did not overlook the contrary medical opinions. Although he accepted the opinion of an examining physician who had seen the claimant only once, rather than that of the treating physician, Buro clarifies Pierce and Vargas and indicates that the circumstances of this given case do not require any greater explanation than that which was given.
The order appealed is AFFIRMED.
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...evidence.20See Chavarria v. Selugal Clothing, Inc., 840 So.2d 1071 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003) (en banc) (reaffirming Jefferson Stores, Inc. v. Rosenfeld, 386 So.2d 865 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980), in which the court held that “[i]t is the [JCC]'s function to determine credibility and resolve conflicts in ......
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Chavarria v. Selugal Clothing, Inc.
...he ignored or overlooked contrary testimony. Buro v. Dino's Southland Meats, 354 So.2d 874 (Fla.1978). Jefferson Stores, Inc. v. Rosenfeld, 386 So.2d 865, 865-66 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980). The rule, as thus firmly established in Rosenfeld, should not have caused us difficulty, but it III. A. Almo......
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...evidence are usually for the deputy commissioner to resolve, especially in cases of expert testimony. Jefferson Stores, Inc. v. Rosenfeld, 386 So.2d 865 at 865-866 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980); see also Glades County Sugar Growers v. Gonzales, 388 So.2d 333, 335 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980). As explained in ......
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