Florida court: Injured workers deserve 5 years of help

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MGN

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – The Florida Supreme Court is striking down a law that limits payments to injured workers to two years, ordering instead that the payments should last five years.

The court threw out the law in a 5-2 decision Thursday stemming from a lawsuit filed by an injured St. Petersburg firefighter. Bradley Westphal was no longer eligible for payments because he wasn’t permanently disabled, yet his doctors told him he couldn’t work.

The decision could impact Florida’s businesses and how much they pay for workers’ compensation insurance.

Last month the court struck down a law that limited lawyer fees in workers’ compensation cases.

Due to the May ruling state insurance regulators were asked to approve 17.1 percent rate hike in insurance premiums paid by the state’s business owners.

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