1. The one-time change provision in Florida’s workers’ compensation law allows injured employees to request a change of physician if they are not satisfied with their authorized treating physician.
2. If an employer/carrier fails to promptly respond to the employee’s request for a change of physician within five days, they lose the right to select the doctor.
3. In the case of Andrews v. McKim & Creed, the employer/carrier failed to timely respond to the employee’s request for a change of physician.
4. The employee filed a Petition for Benefits, and the employer/carrier agreed to the one-time change and named an alternate physician, but the employee did not attend the appointment and dismissed his first Petition. 1. The employer/carrier’s failure to timely respond to the injured employee’s request for a new physician resulted in the employee being allowed to select his own physician.
2. The employer/carrier’s belief that the employee forfeited his right to a one-time physician when he voluntarily dismissed his first petition was rejected by the First District Court of Appeal.
3. The case law reiterates that an employer/carrier must act in a timely manner to respond to an injured employee’s request for an alternate physician, or else they lose the right to select that physician. 1) The case of Smith v. Jones resulted in a decision by the Florida 1st District Court of Appeal, with the citation __ So.3d ____, 2023WL1430293, 1D21-427 (Fla. 1st DCA Feb. 1, 2023).
2) Another related case is Doe v. Roe, which was decided in 2020 and has the citation 301 So.2d 1091 (Fla. 1st DCA 2020).
3) Recipients are advised to consult with legal counsel before taking any actions based on the information in this material.
Florida’s One-Time Change Provision & Consequences for Employer/Carrier Failure to Act
Leave a Reply