Lane v. Pipeline Construction Co.

The Judge of Industrial Claims, with the Commission affirming, appears to have improperly apportioned out of claimant’s compensation benefits a percentage for a non-disabling prior disease or condition, which prior to the injury had not affected his wage earning capacity as a manual laborer. This apportionment was made contrary to the decisions in Evans v. Florida Industrial Commission (Fla.), 196 So.2d 748, and Stephens v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. (Fla.), 201 So.2d 731, and other cases.

From the record it appears that for three years prior to his compensable back injury in this case claimant…