On August 13, 2014, a Miami-Dade County Circuit Court judge issued a 20 page decision and opinion which ruled that workers injured on the job may now "maintain a negligence suit versus a negligent employer without having to overcome the affirmative defense previously raised in the pleadings asserting that workers’ compensation benefits are the exclusive remedy for an alleged on the job injury." The circuit court judge ruled the comp immunity provision (§ 440.11) was unconstitutional under both the federal and state constitution.
While this ruling is not binding precedent upon any other circuit court judges throughout Florida, there is no question it will be relied upon immediately by plaintiff attorneys representing individuals injured on the job. The decision will certainly be appealed to the Third District Court of Appeals, and will likely end up in the Florida Supreme Court. In the meantime, this decision will likely be raised by plaintiff attorneys in pending cases involving on the job injuries, and could result in motions for partial summary judgment seeking to strike employer/defendant’s affirmative defenses based upon workers’ compensation immunity.
Our firm is carefully reviewing this decision and opinion, and will be in a position to address your concerns as to its potential impact to not only current, pending cases, but also claims that have already been presented but not yet resulted in litigation.
For more information about this article, contact
G. William Bissett, Shareholder – Miami, wb@kubickidraper.com