09-4183 ROBERTO HERNANDEZ, v. PARIS INDUSTRIAL MAINTENANCE and BRIDGEFIELD EMPLOYERS INSURANCE CO., and SUMMIT HOLDINGS/CLAIMS CENTER

State: Florida

Court: Florida First District Court

Docket No: 09-4183

Case Date: 07/07/2010

Preview:IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL FIRST DISTRICT, STATE OF FLORIDA ROBERTO HERNANDEZ, Appellant, v. PARIS INDUSTRIAL MAINTENANCE and BRIDGEFIELD EMPLOYERS INSURANCE CO. and SUMMIT HOLDINGS/CLAIMS CENTER, Appellees. _____________________________/ Opinion filed July 7, 2010. An appeal from an order from the Judge of Compensation Claims. Sylvia Medina-Shore, Judge. Date of Accident: April 22, 2008. Bill McCabe, Longwood, and Jose J. Larraz, Jr., Miami, for Appellant. H. George Kagan, and Michael E. McCabe of Miller, Kagan, Rodriguez & Silver, P.L., West Palm Beach, for Appellees. NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED CASE NO. 1D09-4183

LEWIS, J. Claimant, Roberto Hernandez, challenges an order of the Judge of Compensation Claims ("JCC") that denies his claim for permanent total disability

("PTD") benefits. Claimant argues, among other things, that the JCC erred in excluding timely disclosed, relevant evidence. We agree and reverse. We need not reach the remaining issues raised on appeal. Background Claimant, a fifty-year-old welder, suffered significant injuries to his right dominant arm and wrist, preventing him from performing his pre-injury job in a trade within which he had worked his entire life. Claimant filed a claim for PTD benefits, and the employer/carrier ("E/C") obtained a vocational

evaluation/reemployment assessment with a rehabilitation provider of its choosing. The purpose of this report was to recommend a cost-effective physical and vocational rehabilitation plan to assist Claimant in returning to suitable gainful employment.

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