Some laws, such as those laid out by the U.S. Constitution, have aged like fine wine—their reputation has only grown over the years. However, many laws age more like people do, and Florida’s worker’s comp law is one of them. After 80 years, it appears Florida’s worker’s compensation law has finally run its course; a Miami judge ruled that the often controversial law cheats injured workers last week. The decision may have a major effect on Floridian workers going forward.
Circuit Judge Jorge E. Cueto, presiding over a case involving a Miami-Dade County government employee, ruled that the law does not provide adequate medical treatment or money for injured workers. Cueto wrote some very strong words in his decision: “The benefits in the act have been so decimated that it no longer provides a reasonable alternative” to filing suit in court, he said. Florida’s workers, under the law that three Florida courts have now ruled unconstitutional, had no choice but to seek benefits under their worker’s comp system, and very rarely were able to sue their employers.
The ruling involves a government account clerk, who in 2012 tripped over boxes a co-worker had left out in a walkway. The worker, Elsa Padgett, was already retirement age, and she fell on her hip and seriously injured her shoulder. After shoulder replacement surgery, she still feels chronic pain and was forced to retire. The striking of the law in Miami is expected to have a large impact on Florida’s blue-collar and agricultural workers.
Miami’s court is by no means the first to take issue with the law; a three-judge Tallahassee appeals court panel ruled against it last year. That panel also had harsh words for the worker’s comp law, saying, “This system of redress does not comport with any notion of natural justice, and its result is repugnant to fundamental fairness, because it relegates a severely injured worker to a legal twilight zone of economic and familial ruin.” More rulings may follow on the heels of the precedent set by these courts.
The law became Florida’s “exclusive” legal worker’s comp remedy in 1968, but it was originally far more generous than it is now. But over time, Florida lawmakers gradually amended the law to make it harsher on several occasions, including in 1990, 1993, and 2003. Now, as the law makes the rounds in courts fighting for its survival, it will have to face the weight of recent precedent against its right to exist. The legal situation for workers seeking compensation in Florida may thus change in the near future—expect to see updates on this blog if it does.
If you need representation in a worker’s compensation or personal injury case, contact Gilbert and Smallman—we will have an experienced Miami or Fort Lauderdale attorney ready to handle the case!
