Metropolitan Transit Authority v. Bradshaw
| Decision Date | 08 November 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. BA-367,BA-367 |
| Citation | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 2500,478 So.2d 115 |
| Parties | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 2500 METROPOLITAN TRANSIT AUTHORITY and Metropolitan Dade County Self-Insurance Fund, Appellant, v. Thomas BRADSHAW and Division of Workers' Compensation, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Jeffrey S. Breslow of Adams, Kelly & Kronenberg, Miami, for appellant.
Gene Flinn, Miami, for appellee.
Metropolitan Transit Authority and Metropolitan Dade County Self-Insurance Fund (E/C) appeal from a workers' compensation order granting Bradshaw's motion for modification. The E/C contend no showing was made by Bradshaw of a causal relationship between his industrial accident and his psychiatric problems, and further, there was no showing of a change in his condition so as to merit modification of the former denial of nursing care services. We agree and reverse.
Bradshaw was seriously injured in an industrial accident in May of 1974. He required surgery and ultimately was left permanently and totally disabled. In January, 1983, Bradshaw made a claim for modification of the original order for psychiatric care and nursing services.
During the hearing on this motion, Bradshaw presented testimony by himself, his wife, and Dr. Jerome Powell, a chiropractor, as well as letters and reports from Dr. Susan Moreno, a psychiatrist, and Dr. W. Scott Piper, an orthopedic surgeon. From the evidence adduced, the deputy determined that Bradshaw's condition had worsened since the time of the original order and awarded psychiatric care and nursing care and/or attendant services on an as needed basis.
As this court stated in University Inn v. Davis, 413 So.2d 128 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982), where a psychiatrist does not render or is unable to render an opinion as to whether a claimant's psychiatric condition is causally related to his industrial accident, an award of benefits based on the claimant's psychiatric condition is in error. In the present case, the only medical evidence associating Bradshaw's mental condition with his on-the-job injury, other than the chiropractor's testimony, is a report by Dr. Greenberg, a psychiatrist, addressed to Bradshaw's treating psychiatrist which states in part: "It can be hypothesized that his depression is associated with exacerbation of his life-long feelings of inadequacy and weakness due to awareness of his mental deterioration, physical problems, and inability to work."
We find this report does not supply sufficient medical testimony to support a causal relationship. Further,...
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