City of Fort Pierce/Florida Municipal Insurance Trust v. Spence
Docket: No. 1D14-937
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; December 29, 2014; Florida; State Appellate Court
In this workers' compensation case, the Employer/Carrier (E/C) appeals a Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) order granting facet injections while denying authorization for an orthopedic surgeon and a cervical diskectomy and fusion at C5-6. The Claimant, injured in a work-related motor vehicle accident on October 21, 2012, had the E/C stipulate to compensability. Dr. Slobasky, an authorized pain management specialist, recommended bilateral cervical facet medial branch blocks but indicated that 70% of the Claimant’s need for these injections stemmed from a pre-existing degenerative condition, which was identified before the accident. The JCC accepted Dr. Slobasky’s evidence but misapplied the precedent set in Bysczynski v. United Parcel Services, Inc., arguing that the degenerative condition was normal for the Claimant’s age. The appellate court clarifies that the key issue is whether there is medical evidence showing that the pre-existing condition is the major contributing cause of the treatment need. Unlike in Bysczynski, the current case presents such evidence, leading to the reversal of the award for facet injections. On cross-appeal, the JCC's exclusion of Dr. Roush’s testimony regarding the necessity of diskectomy and fusion surgery was identified as an error, as the JCC had previously deemed Dr. Roush’s care compensable. However, this error was deemed harmless because the JCC also provided legitimate reasons for ultimately rejecting Dr. Roush's opinion based on Dr. Slobasky’s assertion that the facet joints were the primary pain source. The court affirms the denial of the orthopedic claims and reverses the facet injection order, remanding the case for entry of an order to deny the claim for facet injections. Judges Thomas, Wetherell, and Rowe concur.