Ditchmen • NUCA of Florida Ditchmen • March 2017 | Page 14

Senator Bradley
Introduces
Legislation to Stabilize
Workers’
Compensation
Rates
Senator Rob Bradley
(R-Fleming Island) today filed
Senate Bill 1582, Workers’
Compensation Insurance.
The legislation addresses
a number of recent legal
challenges and outlines
reforms needed to bring
stability to the workers’
compensation rates paid by
Florida businesses.
“While I believe
comprehensive legislation to
overhaul the entire workers’
compensation system and
reduce rates is our ultimate
goal, the current cycle of
enacting laws that impact
businesses only to have
those changes overturned by
the courts creates instability
for businesses that must be
avoided,” said Senator
Bradley. “My goal in filing this
bill is to concentrate efforts
on stabilizing rates and
introducing more competition
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DITCHMEN • MARCH 2017
between insurers. The bill
also incorporates recent court
decisions to avoid costly and
protracted litigation.”
The legislation filed today
requires insurance carriers to
authorize or decline requests
for authorization from health
care providers within three
business days. The request
is deemed authorized if the
insurance carrier fails to
respond. The bill also requires
a claimant to state with
specificity the amount of each
requested benefit at issue in a
petition, and requires judges
of compensation claims to
dismiss petitions that do not
contain such specificity.
The bill amends statutes
relating to temporary total
disability benefits and
temporary partial disability
benefits from 104 weeks to
260 weeks, consistent with
the Florida Supreme Court
decision in Westphal v. City
of St. Petersburg. In keeping
with the Florida Supreme
Court decision in Miles
v. City of Clearwater, the
bill deletes the prohibition
against attorneys and
others to receive a fee or
other consideration unless
approved by a Judge of
Compensation Claims (JCC).
“Making meaningful
comprehensive changes
that can withstand judicial
scrutiny should be the goal,”
continued Senator Bradley.
“This legislation incorporates
significant provisions that
wil