View AllHow Does Workers’ Compensation Work in Florida?
You get hurt while working in Florida. What happens next?
Workers’ compensation is designed to provide benefits for qualifying job-related injuries without generally requiring you to prove that your employer caused the accident through negligence.
But getting hurt at work does not automatically mean every injury will be covered.
Florida has rules about which injuries qualify, when you must report the accident, which doctors can provide treatment, and when wage benefits are available.
The basic process usually looks like this:
Report the injury → the claim reaches the insurance carrier → receive authorized medical care → determine your work restrictions → receive qualifying benefits → address any disputes if they arise.
What Is Workers’ Compensation in Florida?
Florida workers’ compensation is an insurance system that can provide medical and disability benefits after a qualifying workplace injury.
Unlike an ordinary personal injury lawsuit, the main issue is generally not whether your employer was negligent.
However, the injury must still satisfy Florida’s workers’ compensation requirements. It generally must arise out of work performed in the course and scope of employment, and Florida law also applies a “major contributing cause” requirement to compensability.
So workers’ comp is often described as a no-fault system, but that does not mean every injury that happens during the workday automatically qualifies.
Who Qualifies for Florida Workers’ Compensation Benefits?
Two basic questions matter.
First, the injury must qualify as a work-related injury under Florida law.
Second, the employer generally must be subject to Florida’s workers’ compensation coverage requirements.
Florida’s Department of Financial Services currently states that non-construction employers generally must carry coverage when they have four or more employees. Construction employers generally must carry coverage with one or more employees. Agriculture has separate thresholds.
There are exemptions and special situations, so employer size alone does not answer every coverage question.
How Soon Should You Report a Workplace Injury?
Florida law generally requires an injured employee to notify the employer within 30 days after the injury or its initial manifestation, subject to several statutory exceptions.
That does not mean you should wait 30 days.
Reporting the injury promptly can help establish when the accident happened and allow the employer and insurance carrier to begin the claim process.
Once the employer learns of the injury, it generally has its own reporting obligations to the workers’ compensation carrier.
What Happens After You Report the Injury?
After the employer reports the accident, the workers’ compensation carrier begins handling the claim.
That process can include arranging authorized medical care, obtaining information about the accident, reviewing medical findings, and determining whether disability benefits are owed.
The treating doctor also becomes important because the doctor may decide whether you:
- Can continue working normally
- Need work restrictions
- Cannot work temporarily
- Have reached maximum medical improvement
For certain immediate and continuous disabilities lasting at least eight days, Florida law generally requires the carrier to pay the first installment of total disability benefits or deny compensability by the 14th calendar day after the employer receives notice.
What Medical Treatment Does Florida Workers’ Comp Cover?
Workers’ compensation can provide authorized, medically necessary care for a compensable injury.
That can include doctor visits, specialist care, hospital treatment, diagnostic testing, physical therapy, prescriptions, and other necessary treatment.
But there is an important rule:
You generally cannot simply choose any doctor and expect workers’ compensation to pay for the treatment.
Florida’s system generally relies on authorized medical providers, although emergency treatment is treated differently.
You are not necessarily stuck with the same doctor forever, either. Florida law allows an injured worker to make a written request for one change of physician during treatment for an accident. The carrier generally has five days to authorize an alternate physician.
Does Florida Workers’ Compensation Pay Lost Wages?
Potentially, but workers’ compensation generally does not replace your entire paycheck.
If an authorized doctor determines that you are temporarily unable to work, temporary total disability benefits may apply.
Florida law generally calculates qualifying disability benefits at 66⅔% of the employee’s average weekly wage, subject to applicable statutory limits.
There is also a waiting period.
Florida generally does not pay disability compensation for the first seven days of disability. If the disability lasts more than 21 days, however, compensation can become payable from the beginning of the disability period.
If you can return to work with restrictions but earn less than before the injury, temporary partial disability benefits may sometimes apply instead.
What Happens If You Cannot Return to Your Previous Job?
Recovery does not always end with a full return to the same position.
Eventually, an injured worker may reach Maximum Medical Improvement, often called MMI. That generally means significant additional medical improvement is no longer expected.
At that stage, the claim may involve questions about:
- Permanent impairment
- Permanent work restrictions
- Impairment benefits
- Permanent total disability in qualifying cases
- Reemployment or vocational assistance
The benefits available depend on the worker’s medical condition, restrictions, and ability to return to employment.
What If Your Workers’ Comp Claim Is Denied?
A denial does not necessarily end the claim.
Disputes can arise over whether the injury was work-related, medical treatment, work restrictions, wage benefits, or whether the accident was reported properly.
Florida provides a formal Petition for Benefits process through the Office of the Judges of Compensation Claims for benefits that are allegedly due but unpaid.
Workers’ compensation claims also involve procedural deadlines, so delayed or denied benefits should be addressed promptly rather than assuming the insurer’s decision is necessarily final.
Can You File Another Claim Against Someone Who Caused the Accident?
Sometimes.
Workers’ compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against a covered employer for an ordinary covered work injury, subject to statutory exceptions.
But when someone other than the employer causes the injury, a separate third-party claim may sometimes exist.
For example, that could involve:
- A negligent driver
- A defective equipment manufacturer
- Another outside company or contractor, depending on the circumstances
Florida law specifically allows an injured employee to receive workers’ compensation benefits while also pursuing a qualifying claim against a third-party tortfeasor, subject to reimbursement and subrogation rules.
How Can Cohen Injury Law Help With a Florida Workers’ Compensation Claim?
At Cohen Injury Law, we help injured workers address delayed or denied claims, medical-treatment disputes, wage-benefit issues, return-to-work problems, and potential third-party claims.
Our Of Counsel attorney, David Cohen, has spent decades working in workers’ compensation and personal injury law after earning his law degree in 1993.
We help clients across South Florida understand their options and navigate the claims process. We offer free consultations from our Fort Lauderdale office. Call 954-246-3999 to discuss your case.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Do I Have to Report a Workplace Injury in Florida?
Florida generally requires employees to notify their employer within 30 days after the injury or its initial manifestation, although statutory exceptions exist. Reporting the accident as soon as possible is usually the safer approach.
Can I Choose My Own Workers’ Compensation Doctor?
Usually not at the beginning. Workers’ comp treatment generally must be authorized. Florida law does, however, give an injured employee a procedure to request one change of physician during treatment.
How Much of My Lost Wages Does Florida Workers’ Comp Pay?
Qualifying temporary total disability benefits are generally calculated at 66⅔% of average weekly wages, subject to statutory limits and eligibility requirements. Other disability categories use different rules.
Does Workers’ Comp Pay for the First Week I Miss Work?
Generally, disability compensation is not paid for the first seven days. If the disability lasts more than 21 days, Florida law allows compensation from the beginning of the disability period.
Final Thoughts
Florida workers’ compensation generally starts with one important step: reporting the work injury promptly.
From there, the claim can move through authorized medical care, evaluation of your ability to work, and possible wage or disability benefits.
The system has detailed rules, and disputes can arise over medical treatment, whether an injury is work-related, or which benefits are owed.
Understanding the basic process makes it easier to recognize when a claim is moving normally, and when a delay, denial, or other issue may need closer attention.