We’ve talked about the Westphal case in Florida on WCInsights before, and now after a long court session it appears the case is closed.

Section 440.15 is a part of a Florida statute that limited temporary disability benefits to 104 weeks, or two years. It was ruled unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court in a 5-2 decision. The ruling means that workers who are not yet able to work and have still not reached maximum medical improvement will not have their benefits cut off after this time period, which had been the shortest in the country. The court raised the cap on temporary disability benefit period to 260 weeks, or five years.

Bradley Westphal worked as a firefighter in St. Petersburg, FL, and suffered several injuries at work in 2009. His injuries required several surgeries and it took a long time for him to recovery. He sought benefits during his recovery and after two years his temporary disability was cut off, though he was not yet fully healed.

The court’s decision noted that the statute had effectively cut off Mr. Westphal’s ability to get disability benefits even though he was still disabled and was still being treated for his serious injuries. His doctors had advised him not to return to work yet and did not have a clear picture of how long his recovery might last or when he might reach maximum medical improvement. He ended up in kind of a holding pattern where he could not work but it was not yet determined if he would be permanently disabled, and he could not collect either temporary or permanent benefits. This lasted for nine months, and then his employer granted him permanent total disability benefits. For workers who are unable to work and who cannot receive benefits that probably seems like a lifetime.

Payers think this ruling will significantly raise their costs, and the state’s workers’ comp rates may even be going up by 17.1 percent. The Florida Supreme Court did not rule the entire workers’ compensation system unconstitutional, just this statute and the shorter time limit on benefits.