Johnson v. United Parcel Service
| Decision Date | 07 October 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. BQ-275,BQ-275 |
| Parties | 12 Fla. L. Weekly 2376 Jordan J. JOHNSON, Appellant, v. UNITED PARCEL SERVICE and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Appellees. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
William E. McGrew of Jones & Zelman, Naples, for appellant.
Chester H. Budz, Jr., of Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, Fort Myers, for appellees.
The claimant in this workers' compensation case appeals the order of the deputy commissioner (dc) denying temporary total disability (TTD)/wage-loss (WL) benefits. We remand the case to the dc for further clarification of whether the claimant has reached maximum medical improvement (MMI).
The claimant injured his back in a compensable accident on October 30, 1984. He was treated conservatively and continued working for almost a year, but finally had to quit because of persistent pain and discomfort. A CT scan revealed a mild bulging disc, which was treated with epidural steroid injections. When this treatment did not alleviate the pain, the claimant was referred to Dr. Hussey, a neurologist. After examining the claimant, Dr. Hussey opined that the claimant was suffering from lumbosacral facet syndrome, for which he administered several facet block injections and placed claimant in an aggressive physical therapy program. Following a later examination, Dr. Hussey concluded that claimant had not yet reached MMI and was unable to return to work.
The employer/carrier (e/c) requested an independent medical examination (IME), which was conducted by Dr. Spil, a neurosurgeon, on March 31, 1986. Dr. Spil's report stated:
The patient, apparently, had a lumbo-sacral sprain back in 1984, was treated with good results. Now, he wants to go back to work and I do not see, at this point, any limitation of his activities as lifting weights, squatting, stooping, bending or walking, driving, or sitting.
The e/c, upon receiving the report, notified the claimant that it was discontinuing his workers' compensation benefits and ordered him to return to work at his full-time position. When the claimant did not return, his employment with the e/c was terminated.
Claimant requested TTD benefits from April 1 to April 15, 1986, and WL benefits from April 16 and continuing, until the date of the hearing, based on the testimony of Dr. Hussey who opined that the claimant was unable to return to work in March 1986, and had not yet reached MMI. The dc denied the claim, relying on the IME performed by Dr. Spil, in which it was stated that the claimant did not have "any limitation of his activities".
We find it necessary to remand the case to the dc for further clarification, as the medical report submitted by Dr. Spil, and accepted by the dc, fails to state whether the claimant had achieved MMI in March 1986. The date of MMI marks the point after which no further recovery or improvement from an injury or disease can reasonably be anticipated. Hall v. Dade County School Board, 492 So.2d 768 (...
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...yet reached MMI, he should then award him temporary compensation benefits through the date of the hearing. Cf. Johnson v. United Parcel Serv., 513 So.2d 1336 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). Claimant also contends that the JCC erred in finding that there had been no evidence evincing a need for any rem......
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