Dennis v. Brown

U. L. Brown (plaintiff) was a salesman for W. C. Dennis, doing business as Allapattah Home & Auto Supply (Dennis) (defendant), when he was injured. Brown received the maximum permanent total-disability benefits available under Florida law. Brown then returned to work for Dennis. Brown was unable to work outside the store as in the past, but he made enough sales while working inside the store to cover his full salary. One day, Brown fell in the store and reinjured his back. Brown sought temporary total-disability compensation for his second injury. Dennis and Dennis’s insurance carrier, National Surety Corp. (National) (defendant), argued that because Brown had already received the maximum permanent total-disability benefits for his previous injury, he could not receive any additional compensation. Dennis and National argued that Dennis gave Brown a job again after his original injury out of sympathy for Brown, and Brown could not have sustained a loss in wage-earning capacity after his second injury because he had already permanently lost his wage-earning capacity. The deputy commissioner determined that Brown had regained some of his wage-earning capacity after his original injury and that Brown was entitled to temporary total-disability compensation for his second injury. Dennis and National appealed, and the full commission affirmed. Dennis and National again appealed.