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Florida court trims lawn care services from award
Without evidence establishing a medical need for a yard to remain well-maintained or a medical consequence if the yard was not maintained, the claimant is not entitled to lawn care services as a workers' compensation benefit.
Case name: ABC Home Health v. Lawson, 17 FLWCLB 75 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2010). Ruling: The Florida District Court of Appeal upheld the judge of compensation claims' award of a hot tub and dental evaluation but reversed the award of lawn care services. The claimant did not establish that the requested services were medically necessary.
Summary: The JCC awarded lawn care, a hot tub, and a dental evaluation after finding that these items were medically necessary as a result of injuries the claimant sustained in a 1993 work accident. The DCA upheld the award for the hot tub and dental evaluation, reasoning that competent substantial evidence supported the JCC's findings regarding the medical necessity of these items. However, it reversed the award of lawn care services because the claimant failed to establish a medical need for her yard to remain well-maintained or prove that she would suffer adverse medical consequences if the yard was not maintained. Without such a showing, the statute in effect on the date of the claimant's accident expressly prohibited an award of services to assist an injured worker in performing "household duties." Read more at the WorkersComp Forum homepage. August 19, 2010 Copyright 2010© LRP Publications |
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