Consulate Health Care v. Ho

In this workers’ compensation case, the employer and its third-party administrator (Petitioners) seek a writ of prohibition to quash the order denying their motion to disqualify the Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC). We grant the petition for the reasons that follow.

The motion to disqualify was based on a comment allegedly made by the JCC after a lengthy video teleconference (VTC) hearing that was inadvertently picked up by the VTC equipment and overheard by Petitioners’ attorney. Specifically, the motion alleged that “[fjollowing the dismissal of counsel and the party, the [JCC] turned in…