Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 60Q-6.116 - PROSECUTION OF CLAIMS AND PETITIONS FOR BENEFITS
(1) All parties shall diligently prosecute or
defend the claim or petition, including but not limited to timely conducting
all necessary discovery. A request for a continuance shall be made by motion,
shall specify the reason that the continuance is necessary, and shall
demonstrate due diligence by describing the specific actions the moving party
has taken to correct the circumstances alleged to be beyond the party's
control.
(2) A claim or petition
may be dismissed by the claimant or petitioner without an order by filing, or
announcing on the record, a voluntary dismissal at any time before the
conclusion of the final hearing. Unless otherwise stated in the notice, the
dismissal is without prejudice, except that a second notice of voluntary
dismissal shall operate as an adjudication of denial of any claim or petition
for benefits previously the subject of a voluntary dismissal.
(3) The judge may conduct any proceedings by
telephone conference. Testimony may be taken by telephone with the written
agreement of all parties or approval by the judge. In such event, the oath
shall be administered in the physical presence of the witness by a notary
public or officer authorized to administer oaths, unless the parties stipulate
to administration of the oath telephonically by the judge or the judge
determines good cause exists for the judge to administer the oath
telephonically.
(4) The judge may
conduct any proceedings using video teleconference equipment, platforms, or
applications approved by the Deputy Chief Judge. In the event that testimony is
taken by video teleconference, administration of the oath by the judge during
the proceeding is as binding as if the judge and witness were physically
present in the same room. A motion for an in-person hearing or mediation,
instead of a video teleconference proceeding, may be granted upon a showing of
good cause.
(5) Upon proper motion
of any party, the judge may enter an order reflecting the terms of any written
stipulation or agreement between the parties.
(6) Any attorney or unrepresented claimant
who has filed a petition for benefits must file a pleading with the judge in
order to cancel the corresponding final hearing. The pleading must be filed
prior to the scheduled final hearing and shall indicate the manner in which
each issue was resolved. Upon receipt of such cancellation pleading, the judge
shall change the status of the affected petition or petitions in the OJCC
database. Cases with no currently pending issues scheduled for mediation or
hearing shall be reflected in the OJCC database as "inactive." Upon changing a
case status from active to inactive, the OJCC central clerk shall issue an
order documenting such status change. In the event such a change to "inactive"
is erroneous, the assigned judge may issue an order vacating the prior order
and restoring the case to "active."
(7) No more than 10 days but no less than two
business days prior to the final hearing, each party is required to file a
brief memorandum consisting of a statement of relevant facts and written
argument, which shall include filing dates or docket ID for any evidentiary
documents which will be relied upon at trial. All depositions and documentary
evidence, including known impeachment and rebuttal evidence a party intends to
offer into evidence, shall be filed with the memorandum. Any evidence which is
not capable of electronic filing, including but not limited to diagnostic films
or audio or audiovisual recordings shall be filed contemporaneously with the
memorandum and served on all parties by the same method, U.S. mail, delivery,
etc., as delivered to the judge's office. In the event of a re-scheduling or
continuance, documents timely filed pursuant to this rule need not be re-filed
prior to the re-scheduled or continued hearing. Documentary evidence not timely
filed may be excluded from evidence, absent a written stipulation of the
parties or an order extending the deadline for filing for good cause
shown.
(8) Any party calling a
witness in need of translation services shall be responsible to provide
therefor. The OJCC will not provide translation services except in exceptional
circumstances and upon written request filed with the Deputy Chief Judge at
least 10 days prior to the mediation or hearing for which such services are
sought and for good cause shown.
(9) Appointment of an expert medical advisor,
except during the final hearing, shall be sought by written motion. The motion
shall specifically state the conflict in medical opinions, identify the
providers who rendered those opinions, their medical specialties, and attach
the documentation that memorializes those opinions.
(10) The order appointing an expert medical
advisor shall identify the appointed advisor and the conflict to be
resolved.
(11) Unless otherwise
ordered by the judge, within 10 days of the order appointing an expert medical
advisor, the parties shall jointly submit to the appointed advisor a composite
of all documents and records which the parties agree the advisor will review.
Any party may move for an order to permit submission of additional or
non-stipulated records.
(12) The
report of an expert medical advisor is admissible in evidence at the final
hearing unless excluded by the judge for good cause shown.
Notes
Rulemaking Authority 440.45(1)(a), (4) FS. Law Implemented 440.25(4), 440.29(2), 440.33(1), 440.45(1)(a), (4) FS.
New 2-23-03, Amended 11-1-06, 10-31-10, 10-31-12, 11-10-14, 2-14-22, 3-15-23.
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.