Tohn v. Montgomery Elevator Co.
Tohn v. Montgomery Elevator Co.
Opinion of the Court
On September 11,1977, plaintiff suffered injuries while employed by Memorial Hospital when an elevator, which she entered on the fourth floor, failed to operate properly when it plummeted from the fourth to the ground floor. She received workmen’s compensation benefits from her employer in the total amount of $35,007.00. She commenced a third party tort action against Montgomery Elevator Company. During the pendency of this action, the employer filed a notice of lien. Thereafter, the plaintiff settled with the elevator company for $105,000.00, which then brought forth a motion for equitable distribution pursuant to Section 440.39(3)(a), Florida Statutes (1977) then in existence.
“Upon suit being filed, the employer or the insurance carrier, as the case may be, may file in the suit a notice of payment of compensation and medical benefits to the employee or his dependents, which said notice shall be recorded and the same shall constitute a lien upon any judgment recovered to the extent that the court may determine to be their pro rata share for compensation benefits paid or to be paid under the provisions of this law. The employer or carrier shall recover from the judgment, after attorney’s fees and costs incurred by the employee or dependent in that suit have been deducted, 100 percent of what it has paid and future benefits to be paid, unless the employee or dependent can demonstrate to the court that he did not recover the full value of damages sustained because of comparative negligence or because of limits of insurance coverage and collecti-bility. The burden of proof will be upon the employee....”
At the time of the hearing on the motion, the trial court found that the plaintiff had failed to establish any conditions which would occasion a diminution in the amount to be reimbursed to the compensation carrier.
Affirmed.
. Compare the pre-1977 statute, § 440.39(3)(a), Fla. Stat. 1975; compare the post-1977 statue, § 440.39(3)(a), Fla.Stat.1979.
. No question of comparative negligence, no question of the amount of coverage, and no question of collectibility.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.