Ortiz v. Winn-Dixie, Inc. / Travelers / Sedgwick
(Fla.1st DCA 2023) (5-31-23) (Bill Rogner)
Statute of Limitations
The 1st DCA affirmed the JCC’s finding that the SOL had expired and that the claimant failed to present evidence that the statute had been tolled. The claimant originally injured her kidney in a compensable 2003 accident. She continued to receive authorized care thereafter. In 2015 her care was transferred to Dr. Young, who saw her on an authorized basis from 2015 through 2019. The carrier last paid for authorized treatment in March of 2019. In May of 2020, the carrier inquired with the doctor as to any recent visits. Although the claimant had seen the doctor several times in the interim, the visits were not authorized, and the notes stated only she was seen for a UT, and that she should be obtaining treatment for that under her private health insurance. The claimant presented no evidence that the visits were for the compensable kidney condition and the DCA affirmed the JCC’s finding that seeing a previously authorized doctor, without a causal connection to the compensable injury, is insufficient to toll the SOL. In dicta, the opinion discusses an interpretation of the two-years statute of limitations that is sure to elicit further discussion, as it appears to change and complicate the decades-old two-year/one-year SOL analysis. Click here to view Opinion