Legal Question in Workers Comp in Florida

Unfortunately, the answer is no. Many employers play this same "trick" on workers when an injury is reported. Although the law requires them to report the injury to the State of Florida and their insurance carrier within 7 days, many employers try to convince the worker not to file a claim and they will have the company pay the bills for treatment. You're lucky that the work comp carrier accepted the late notice by the employer, but trusting the insurance carrier is like trusting the wolf to watch the chicken coop. I've handled these cases for over 30 years and there is a good chance that failing to get good legal help early in the case may result in getting a poor settlement AND a good chance you will lose your job. I have seen hundreds of clients who waited until they were done completely with doctors and after they returned to light duty for several weeks or months. Some even waited until they were fired or terminated. In these cases, there was little I could do but give them the bad news. Once you return to light duty making the same money, your case is worth very little. And, after doing light duty for several weeks or months, they can fire you and there may be nothing you can do about it, since Florida is considered an at-will termination State, meaning you can quit and an employer can fire you without any reason or notice so long as there is no discrimination in the firing. Do yourself a favor and speak to a worker's comp lawyer who handles only claimant cases. There aren't many in your area but it may be worth traveling to Palm Beach county since you had a major shoulder surgery and that shoulder will not be the same in the future. Email me with your number and a time to call you, and I'll tell you who are the good ones in Palm Beach County. It won't cost a dime to speak to any of them since any fee must be approved by the Judge of Compensation Claims and is contingent on getting you some new benefit.

Bob Shapiro

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