Witherell v. Hernando County Sheriff: Heart-Lung Stroke Claims Denied

In Benjamin Thomas Witherell v. Hernando County Sheriff's Office/Florida Sheriffs Risk Management Fund, OJCC Case No. 26-004385BJA, Judge Brian J. Anthony considered claims arising from a November 13, 2025 stroke. The claimant, a deputy sheriff, sought temporary total disability benefits, compensability under the section 112.18 heart-lung presumption, cardiology and neurology care, penalties, interest, fees, and costs.

The JCC found that the claimant did not prove he had hypertension on the accident date. Although one emergency-room blood-pressure reading was elevated, the claimant's IME physician could not diagnose hypertension and stated that the disabling event was the stroke. The order also found that the cause of the stroke was unknown and that the evidence did not establish that hypertension caused it or that employment was its major contributing cause.

Because the claimant failed to prove a covered condition, disability caused by a covered condition, or a causal link between hypertension and the stroke, the heart-lung presumption did not apply. The JCC denied TTD, compensability of hypertension and the stroke, cardiology and neurology treatment, penalties and interest, and attorney's fees and costs.

Source: Compensation Order