JCC Denies Further Cervical and Lumbar Treatment After Rehearing

In Tara Walker v. Miami-Dade County / Miami Dade County Risk Management, OJCC Case No. 25-010357SMS, Judge Sylvia Medina-Shore issued a Compensation Order Upon Rehearing arising from a January 22, 2024 bus-operator accident. The claimant sought authorization of treatment for cervical and lumbar disc conditions, herniations, radiculopathy, and spondylolisthesis, after an earlier June 22, 2026 order had awarded some cervical treatment before both sides moved for rehearing.

On rehearing, the JCC found the claimant not credible in key respects, found the employer/carrier had timely denied the degenerative cervical and lumbar conditions in July 2024, and rejected the claimant's waiver theory under sections 440.192(8) and 440.20(4). The order concluded the carrier had authorized care only for the compensable sprains and for a temporary exacerbation of preexisting cervical degeneration, not for the underlying degenerative conditions themselves.

The JCC accepted the authorized doctors' opinions that the claimant had reached MMI for the lumbar sprain, cervical sprain, and temporary exacerbation, and that any ongoing need for treatment related to preexisting degenerative conditions rather than the industrial accident. The order denied further medical treatment, denied attorney's fees and costs tied to the August 13, 2025 petition for benefits, and dismissed that petition with prejudice.

Source: Compensation Order