Opinion
No. 1D06-5365.
May 8, 2008.
An appeal from an order of the Judge of Compensation Claims, Kathryn S. Pecko, Judge.
Toni L. Villaverde of Villaverde Martinez, PLLC, South Miami, for Appellant.
Rusten O. Hurd of Colombo, Hurd Brandt, PL, Orlando, for Appellees.
LEWIS and HAWKES, JJ., CONCUR. BROWNING, C.J., CONCURS WITH OPINION:
AFFIRMED.
I write only to make known my reasons for concurring in the majority affirmance of a final order entered twenty-three months after the final hearing. It is fundamental to me that a Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) cannot adequately remember the testimony addressed at a hearing after such a long delay, and such a delay should be treated as a per se reversible error. Claimant deserves a ruling from a JCC with a "fresher" mind than one occasioned by such a delay. I concur here because Appellant failed to preserve this issue before the JCC. See Rivendell of Ft. Walton v. Petway, 833 So.2d 292, 295 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002). I concur fully in the majority's affirmance of the other issues.