A Judge of Compensation Claims may consider a claimant’s financial need relative to her request for an advance.

The claimant requested a $2,000 advance in order to pay for an IME. The employer argued that the claimant failed to show a financial need for the advance. The claimant contended that she established eligibility based on her 1% permanent impairment rating and the fact that the purpose of the advance was to pay the expense of an IME to support her pending petition for benefits. The Judge of Compensation Claims denied the motion for an advance, holding that the claimant failed to present evidence that her income was insufficient to pay for an IME, nor did she otherwise demonstrate a financial need for the advance.

The court pointed out that it has previously required a claimant seeking an advance to establish a “legitimate interest” or an “adequate justification,” along with evidence that the claimed need for the advance has “some plausible nexus to the principal purpose” of Chapter 440, namely, “to address medical and related financial needs arising from workplace injuries.” To hold otherwise would “result in automatic $2,000 advances from employers/carriers to claimants despite no connection to a pending claim for medical or related care or even a demonstrated need for the funds.”

The First District Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that a Judge of Compensation Claims may consider a claimant’s financial need for an advance even when the purpose of the advance is to pay for expenses related to establishing compensability or entitlement to benefits.  

_{Case Law Alerts, 4^th Quarter, October 2018}

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