SC13-1976 Bradley Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg

Summary

The court held that the workers’ compensation statute plainly ends temporary total disability benefits after 104 weeks or upon maximum medical improvement, whichever occurs first, and does not deem an injured worker to have reached maximum medical improvement or make the worker eligible for permanent total disability benefits. Applied to workers who remain totally disabled but have not reached maximum medical improvement, the 104-week limit creates an unconstitutional gap that denies access to courts. The court quashed the First District’s decision and revived the pre-1994 260-week limitation as the remedy.