This is a quick post but an important one. It is necessary to understand that despite Claimant completing the standard mileage form she is not automatically entitled to reimbursement. A Claimant must still prove to the JCC that entitlement is warranted.
In Florida Retail v. Nofal, the Court holds that like all medical benefits, Claimant has the burden to prove entitlement to mileage reimbursement. This means simply submitting a mileage form is not enough. Check with your payout and compare Claimant’s alleged doctor’s visits with the visits she actually attended.*
Also, keep in mind: Mileage Reimbursment forms have boilerplate language warning Claimant’s that falsifying mileage information is a third degree felony and I would it warrants suspension of benefits as dictated under section 440.09 and 440.105.
*Please note that there is likely an inherent delay between appointments medical bill payment due to the HCFA process.
July 22, 2010 at 12:14 pm
[…] Should the E/C believe Claimant is being dishonest about her mileage reimbursement forms, they could subpoena the records of the gym to find out when she checked in and out. This would be considered fraud since mileage forms contain language warning Claimants of fraud. As per my previous blog entry, a Claimant must prove entitlement to medical mileage reimbursement. […]