Workers’ compensation is a type of insurance that protects employees if they are injured on the job and limits the liability exposure of the businesses that employ them. The insurance provides medical benefits and wage replacement for the employee depending on the nature of their injuries while also protecting the employer from lawsuits related to the incident that caused the injury at work. While workers’ compensation can be considered an essential benefit for employees, many business officers find they do not require the same protection.  Those who work in administrative and/or management roles may have a significantly lower risk of sustaining a work-related injury, making workers’ compensation coverage unnecessary. Because insurance providers use a business’ total payroll to calculate insurance premiums, removing an officer’s salary can reduce insurance expenses. To do this, the officer needs to file for a workers’ compensation exemption. Exemptions can make it easier for a business to meet Florida’s workers’ compensation requirements while maintaining a reasonable profit margin.

Joshua E. Nathanson, a partner in the firm’s Hollywood office, obtained a verdict in an admitted liability rear-end auto collision. This was one of the first live trials held in Miami, Dade County since the COVID-19 shutdown.  

On April 29, 2021, The Florida Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion on how the new summary judgment standard it promulgated on December 31, 2020 will be applied after its effective date of May 1, 2021. This standard is not “new” but rather it is patterned after the federal summary judgment standard. The Supreme Court has made it clear that, as a result, federal case law interpreting Federal Rule 56 will be persuasive in state courts. 

Jayne Ann Skrzysowski-Pittman, Managing Partner of the Orlando office and Chair of the firm's Construction Practice Group, will be presenting “Construction Defect Damages and Developments,” at the Construction Law Institute an event sponsored by The Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar on May 21, 2021.

On April 28, 2021, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal issued its opinion in Priority Medical Center, LLC. a/a/o Susan Boggiardino v. Allstate No. 3D20-291. In Priority, the Court addressed whether the non-facility participating price or the non-facility limiting charge was the applicable fee schedule for Medicare Part B for 2007, for purposes for PIP reimbursement under the Schedule of Maximum Charges. The Court held the higher 2007 non-facility limiting charge was the proper reimbursement rate, affirming the lower court’s decision.