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May 1, 2014 by admin

Workers’ Compensation: Medical benefits for heat exhaustion injury; compensability of diagnostic testing

39 Fla. L. Weekly D870a

Workers’ compensation — Compensable accidents — Heat
exhaustion — Medical benefits — Major contributing cause standard effective
January 1, 1994, superseded prior court-created causation standards —
Diagnostic tests are compensable if they are reasonably necessary to determine
whether industrial accident was cause of injury



ENERGY AIR and AMERISURE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellants, v. RONALD LALONDE,
Appellee. 1st District. Case No. 1D13-5213. Opinion filed April 24, 2014. An
appeal from an order of the Judge of Compensation Claims. W. James Condry, II,
Judge. Date of Accident: June 22, 2012. Counsel: Wayne Johnson of DeCiccio &
Johnson, Winter Park, for Appellants. Nicholas A. Shannin of the Shannin Law
Firm, P.A., Orlando, for Appellee.
(PER CURIAM.) In this workers’ compensation case, the Employer/Carrier (E/C)
appeals an order of the Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) finding Claimant’s
heat exhaustion injury compensable and awarding past medical bills. The E/C
argues that the JCC erred both in finding compensability of the heat exposure
injury in the absence of evidence that Claimant “was exposed to dangers
materially in excess to which the community is exposed,” and in awarding the
past medical bills in the absence of evidence that they were related to
Claimant’s heat exhaustion. We affirm on both points, and write solely to
confirm that prior court-created causation standards are superseded by the
Legislature’s adoption of the “major contributing cause” standard effective
January 1, 1994, see sections 440.09(1) & 440.02(36), Florida Statutes
(2012), and to restate that diagnostic tests are compensable if they are
“reasonably necessary to determine whether the industrial accident was the cause
of” Claimant’s injuries, see Grainger v. Indian River Transport, 869 So.
2d 1269, 1272 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004).
AFFIRMED. (VAN NORTWICK, ROBERTS, and CLARK, JJ., CONCUR.)

* * *

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