Spinelli v. Florida Dept. of Commerce, BJ-212

• Decision Date: 20 June 1986
• Docket Number: No. BJ-212,BJ-212
• Citation: 490 So.2d 1294,11 Fla. L. Weekly 1393
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals
• Parties: 11 Fla. L. Weekly 1393 Julia S. SPINELLI, Appellant, v. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Department of Insurance, Division of Risk Management, and Crawford & Company, Appellees.

Page 1294

490 So.2d 1294

11 Fla. L. Weekly 1393

Julia S. SPINELLI, Appellant, v. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Department of Insurance, Division of Risk Management, and Crawford & Company, Appellees.

No. BJ-212.

District Court of Appeal of Florida First District.

June 20, 1986.

Edward Schroll, Miami, for appellant.

David W. Black of Atkinson, Jenne, Diner, Stone, Butterworth & Cohen, P.A., Hollywood, for appellees.

WIGGINTON, Judge.

Appellant appeals the deputy commissioner's denial of her claim for payment of a chiropractor's bill and for reinstatement of administrative or sick leave time, as well as his finding that she reached maximum medical improvement on March 10, 1980. We affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.

Appellant injured her hand in a work-related accident on January 26, 1977. She was treated by several authorized doctors, including a neurosurgeon, Dr. Dickens. None of the authorized doctors were able to make any objective findings in regard to the etiology of appellant's hand pain. Even in the absence of any diagnosis, Dr. Dickens gave appellant a 7 percent permanent impairment rating based on her subjective complaints and found that she reached maximum medical improvement on March 10, 1980. He felt that her pain would subside in time and did not recommend surgery.

Appellant continued to work following her accident but missed many hours of work during the succeeding years due to constant hand pain and consequent doctors' appointments. Rule 22A-8.12(1)(a), Florida Administrative Code, provides that an employee who sustains a job-connected disability that is compensable under the Workers' Compensation Law is entitled to a maximum of forty work hours intermittent leave without being required to use accrued leave credit. Appellant's supervisor approved greatly in excess of forty hours administrative workers' compensation leave for appellant intermittently for her various absences from work due to her hand condition and doctors' visits until April 5, 1983. At that time, the State adjusted appellant's leave to allow her only forty hours paid workers' compensation administrative leave pursuant to the above rule and retroactively deducted the rest of her absentee time from her accumulated sick and annual leave. Consequently, the State paid her no workers' compensation temporary disability benefits for time missed from work due to her injury.

In August 1978, while at least an orthopedic surgeon and a hand specialist were still authorized to treat her, appellant, on her own initiative, began to receive treatment from Dr. Woeltzen, a chiropractor. According to her testimony, she informed her supervisor that the other treating physicians were not helping her in any way and requested that she be allowed to see Dr. Woeltzen. However, she stated that her supervisor, Jean Jackson, told her to "go ahead, but make sure you bring me the slip that you see him." Ms. Jackson admitted that she knew of appellant's hand injury and also knew that appellant was being treated by Dr. Woeltzen. However, she denied ever authorizing him and explained that she did not have authority to authorize physicians that are not on her authorized treating list. Another of appellant's supervisors, Joseph McGlaughlin, also testified that he never authorized Dr. Woeltzen for appellant although he was aware that she was being treated by him. Dr. Woeltzen testified that he did not seek authorization for the treatment of appellant and he knew that the State was not aware that he was treating appellant. He also did not file any reports as required by section 440.13, Florida Statutes. Nevertheless, some of the workers' compensation administrative leave time approved by appellant's supervisors was for visits to Dr. Woeltzen.

Dr. Woeltzen immobilized appellant's hand, using a splint. Appellant testified that his treatment provided her the only relief she had received at that point although she continued to suffer constant hand pain. Dr. Woeltzen was of the opinion that appellant reached maximum medical improvement on April 29, 1980, with a 30 percent permanent impairment of her hand.

On October 26, 1982, appellant saw another authorized orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Richards, who, upon x-raying her hand, found a free floating bone fragment which he felt could produce the symptoms of which she was complaining. He was of the opinion that her reduction...