Opinion
No. 1D19-1385
03-12-2020
Silvestre Andres DOMINGUEZ, Appellant, v. SOUTH EAST PERSONNEL LEASING, INC./PACKARD CLAIMS ADMINISTRATION, Centerline Directional Drilling Service, Inc./Lion Insurance, Appellees.
Cory J. Pollack, Fort Myers; and Bill McCabe of William J. McCabe, P.A., Longwood, for Appellant. Robert B. Bennett and Karen E. Ferguson of Bennett, Jacobs & Adams, P.A., Tampa, for Appellees.
Cory J. Pollack, Fort Myers; and Bill McCabe of William J. McCabe, P.A., Longwood, for Appellant.
Robert B. Bennett and Karen E. Ferguson of Bennett, Jacobs & Adams, P.A., Tampa, for Appellees.
Per Curiam.
In this workers' compensation case, Claimant challenges an order of the Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) dismissing Claimant's claim for permanent total disability (PTD) benefits. For the reasons below, we reverse.
Claimant was injured in April 2017. On September 7, 2018, he filed the first of two petitions for benefits (PFB) seeking PTD benefits. The Employer/Carrier (E/C) filed their first response to the PFB on October 4, 2018; therein, they stated, "The employer/carrier voluntarily accepts the injured worker as permanently totally disabled starting of August 21, 2018," and agreed to pay "reasonable taxable cost associated with the filing of the petition." The JCC concluded that she lacked jurisdiction.
But the JCC had jurisdiction over the case when the first PFB was filed, because the E/C did not administratively accept Claimant as PTD until October 4, 2018. The E/C's voluntary acceptance did not remove the matter from the JCC's jurisdiction because the JCC retained jurisdiction over costs, and because it was never clear that Claimant received any benefits between the date the E/C concedes Claimant was entitled to PTD benefits (August 21, 2018) and the date Claimant lodged his claim for PTD benefits (September 7, 2018).
Claimant's counsel averred that the E/C had not paid those benefits and argued that Claimant was entitled to an evidentiary hearing on the matter. We agree and therefore REVERSE and REMAND for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.
Wolf and M.K. Thomas, JJ., and Duncan, J. Scott, Associate Judge, concur.