Blog Posts in 2016 Posted By Ben Cristal 8-Dec-2016 Impact on Florida Workers' Compensation Claims from Legalizing Marijuana For those of you that feel that the Florida State Constitution does not have enough amendments, you can add the legalization of “Medical” Marijuana to list. The legal language of Amendment 2 was written to explicitly allow medical ... Continue Reading Posted By Ben Cristal 18-Nov-2016 The Fourth DCA Attempts To Eliminate The Century Old Agreement Between Labor And Industry In 1911, following the Triangle Waist Company Fire, the country began to debate “The Great Trade-off” between labor and industry began which led to the creation of the modern concept of workers’ compensation in Florida. In order for ... Continue Reading Posted By Ben Cristal 16-Nov-2016 FL Workers' Comp Bulletin: Florida's First DCA Piles On Where The Supreme Court Left Off You may recall the recent ruling contained in the Supreme Court decision in Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg, 194 So.3d 311 (Fla. 2016). This was the case that found the 104 week limitation on Temporary Total Disability benefits to be ... Continue Reading Posted By Ben H. Cristal 16-Aug-2016 Risk Management Safety Tip: Unsafe Employees Part II ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE AT WORK It is well understood that an employee who gets injured at work as a result of his drug or alcohol use, that employee forfeits any benefits to which he might be entitled under the workers’ compensation law. The ... Continue Reading Posted By Ben H. Cristal 16-Aug-2016 Risk Management Safety Tip: Unsafe Employees Part I Tips for Protecting your Business from Unsafe Employees: Refusal to use Safety Equipment and Follow Safety Rule Unsafe employees can cost your business money in increased Workers’ Compensation Premiums, broken equipment, lawsuits from third ... Continue Reading Posted By Ben H. Cristal 29-Jul-2016 FLORIDA WORKERS' COMPENSATION ADJUSTER BEST PRACTICE: Denying Experimental Drugs and Procedures without Waiving the “Medically Necessary” Defense DETERMINING EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS AND PROCEDURES: More and more I am seeing recommendations by authorized treating physicians for treatment modalities not generally accepted in the medical community or for therapies not regularly used to treat a ... Continue Reading Posted By Ben H. Cristal 28-Jul-2016 Risks of Employees Leaving Premises During Paid Break There is a line of Florida Workers’ Compensation cases dealing with the “Personal Comfort” doctrine. Included in the Personal Comfort doctrine are activities such as getting a drink of water, seeking a breath of fresh air, eating, ... Continue Reading