Injuries from toxic mix of cleaning supplies comp-eligible: Court

A Florida appeals court has reversed a workers compensation judge’s ruling denying benefits to a rest area attendant injured when a toxic mixture of cleaning supplies exploded in her face.

In a Wednesday decision, the District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District, overturned a decision by a comp judge that determined a claim filed by Cynthia Churchill didn’t warrant compensation because the incident didn’t result in an injury caused by an exposure to a toxic substance.

Ms. Churchill was injured on Nov. 1, 2020, when the cleaning supplies she used mixed to form a chemical reaction and exploded in her face, causing her to suffer respiratory, eye and other injuries. She argued it was not a toxic exposure case but rather a general workplace accident.

Her employer, DBI Services LLC, reported the comp claim to insurer CorVel Corp. and an adjuster initially accepted the claim as compensable, but Ms. Churchill was told two months later that the claim was being investigated and the initial approval was conditional.

The insurer later denied the claim.

The appeals court said the employer and insurer failed to abide by timeframe requirements in a comp law provision called “pay and investigate,” which allows the temporary compensability of a claim while the matter is investigated, ruling that the 59-day period between initially paying the claim and notifying that it would be denied was too long.

The court reversed the comp judge’s decision and remanded the case with the instructions that the claim be treated as compensable. The comp judge was also ordered to revisit other aspects of the claim such as attorneys fees.