Florida’s First District Court of Appeal ruled that a woman was owed permanent total disability benefits, despite a Judge of Compensation Claims initially denying her request.
On April 15, the appeals court reversed an order from the JCC (Judge Nolan S. Winn) that ruled against Nancy Pannell in her workers’ compensation lawsuit against Escambia County School District and Risk Management, Services, Inc. The appeals panel also determined that Pannell was entitled to the temporary benefits the JCC awarded her.
At issue was the amount of time Pannell would have been entitled to after suffering injuries and post-retirement.
“The JCC’s primary error was to focus on claimant’s retirement date, as well as her age and disability status at that time because the relevant date for determining whether claimant qualifies for [permanent total disability] is the date of the either overall [maximum medical improvement] or at the expiration of her entitlement to temporary benefits, which occurs first…,” wrote Judge J. Scott Duncan.
Depending on her date of retirement as a way to decide that she wasn’t owed PTD was the key error, the appeals court ruled.
The case also was reversed on a finding that appellees’ vocational expert took the stand and claimed that Pannell couldn’t fulfill any of her responsibilities.
Pannell filed a complaint after suffering injuries to her neck, back and right shoulder during an accident. She then experienced depression during her recovery. She was paid her temporary benefits until January 2002, when 104 weeks she was eligible for had ended. The JCC later determined that Pannell was owed 260 weeks of temporary disability in light of a Supreme Court ruling. Still, Pannell was denied permanent benefits. Both sides appealed, with Judge Duncan finding that she was owed permanent and temporary benefits.
Justices James Wolf and M. Kemmerly Thomas concurred.