Integrated Health Servs. v. Hyde

In Integrated Health Servs. v. Hyde, 721 So. 2d 1217 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998), the claimant filed a request for assistance pursuant to section 440.191, seeking permanent and total disability benefits; in response, the employer/carrier filed a notice of denial. The claimant subsequently filed a petition for benefits, and the employer/carrier accepted claimant as permanently and totally disabled within the 14-day statutory time frame. In Integrated Health, we held that no fees were recoverable because a "successful prosecution" of a claim was not undertaken. The Court explained there that the request for assistance procedure is part of the informal dispute resolution process, and that section 440.191(2)(d), Florida Statute (Supp. 1994), exempts employers or carriers from liability for attorney's fees for services rendered in connection with the informal dispute resolution process, unless expressly authorized elsewhere in chapter 440. Further, neither the filing of nor the denial of the request for assistance entitles the JCC to award attorney's fees, because there must be a successful prosecution of a claim. Id.