JCC Grants Neurology Evaluation for Headaches After USF Sidewalk Fall

In LaSonya Moore v. University of South Florida/Division of Risk Management, OJCC Case No. 25-016846EBG, Judge Erik B. Grindal reviewed a petition seeking authorization of a neurologist after the claimant developed severe recurring headaches following a May 2, 2025 workplace fall while carrying teaching materials on campus.

The employer and carrier accepted injuries to the shoulder, knees, and low back, but disputed whether the headaches were work-related and medically necessary. Judge Grindal credited the claimant, her primary care physician, the authorized orthopedist, and the claimant's neurologist IME over the carrier's neurologist, finding the record showed no meaningful migraine treatment for years before the accident and supported a causal link between the compensable accident and the post-accident headaches.

The order grants authorization of a neurologist to evaluate the headaches, holding that the evaluation is reasonably necessary to diagnose the condition and determine whether the industrial accident remains the major contributing cause of any future headache treatment. The JCC also granted attorney's fees and taxable costs, while expressly not deciding the ultimate headache diagnosis or later treatment issues in this order.

Source: Compensation Order