Hamm ex rel. Hamm v. PMI Employee Leasing

In this workers’ compensation case, the minor child of the decedent employee challenges an order from the Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) denying her death benefits payable under section 440.16, Florida Statutes (2012). The Employer/Carrier (E/C) here accepted the employee’s death as a compensable workplace injury and subsequently filed an emergency motion seeking to determine the beneficiaries of death benefits. No petition for benefits (PFB) or other claim for benefits was pending when the E/C filed its motion. Because we conclude the JCC lacked jurisdiction to address the E/C’s motion,…