Orange County Sheriff's Dept. v. Perez
| Decision Date | 02 March 1989 |
| Docket Number | No. 88-1073,88-1073 |
| Citation | 541 So.2d 652,14 Fla. L. Weekly 588 |
| Parties | 14 Fla. L. Weekly 588 ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT and Crum and Forster Commercial Insurance, Appellants, v. Luis PEREZ, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Robert C. Barrett of Rissman, Weisberg, Barrett & Hurt, P.A., Orlando, for appellants.
Michael M. O'Brien and James R. Hooper of O'Brien & Hooper, P.A., Orlando, for appellee.
The Orange County Sheriff's Department and Crum and Forster Commercial Insurance (employer/carrier or E/C) have appealed an order of the deputy commissioner awarding claimant Perez attendant care benefits, designating Perez's wife as the attendant and setting the rate at which she is to be paid. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
Perez, a sheriff's deputy, suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome as the result of a 1985 shooting incident in which he was severely wounded. Perez filed the instant claim for attendant care benefits on November 30, 1987, a time at which the record is clear that Perez's wife was working full-time outside the home. It also appears that Perez himself could handle his personal needs and indeed was able to spend some days away from home at a friend's car lot.
The first medical opinion of a need for attendant care was expressed in a January 28, 1988 letter from Perez's treating physician, Dr. Kirkland, who opined that a 16-hour per day attendant was needed to help Perez "stay cool" when his condition caused him to become panicked and agitated. The E/C proceeded to authorize such care, but only from a nursing agency, from a family friend who would be paid directly by the E/C, or from Perez's wife at a rate of $160.00 per week, the salary which she received from her outside employment. The first of these offers was rejected by Dr. Kirkland as inconsistent with his recommendations, and the E/C made no effort to locate a suitable "family friend." Therefore, the claim was heard on the issues of Perez's entitlement to attendant care from his wife and at what rate.
Expert testimony was received at the hearing to the effect that, while Mrs. Perez was not the optimal choice to serve as Perez's attendant, Perez's acceptance of her in that role was crucial to the success of the care. The evidence was conflicting on the issue of the rate at which Mrs. Perez should be paid, but there was testimony that a nursing service would charge between $5.00 and $6.00 per hour for...
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...care. See Adams Bldg. Materials, Inc., v. Brooks, 892 So.2d 527, 530 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004) (citing Orange Cnty. Sheriff's Dep't v. Perez, 541 So.2d 652, 654 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989) (holding claimant has burden to prove “the quantity, quality and duration of attendant services claimed”)).Based on ......
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ADAMS BLDG. MATERIALS, INC. v. Brooks, 1D03-3405.
...care have the burden of proving the quantity, quality, and duration of attendant services claimed. See Orange County Sheriff's Dep't v. Perez, 541 So.2d 652, 654 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989). A physician must indicate attendant care services are medically necessary. See § 440.13(2)(b), Fla. Stat. (2......
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