Today, we continue our commitment to people and to upholding a high standard of excellence. Following the mission established by H. Guy Smith in 1968, Smith, Feddeler, Smith & Miles, P.A. still represents only injured individuals, not insurance companies.
Our history and personal understanding of the devastation caused by serious injuries motivate our efforts. We have tried over three thousand cases to a successful conclusion and provided guidance to thousands of clients in settling their cases. Our attorneys have more than one hundred years of combined experience. Five of our highly qualified attorneys are Florida Bar Board Certified Workers’ Compensation attorneys. We are the only firm in Florida exclusively representing injured workers that can claim this distinction. In addition to our attorneys, our professional staff includes over fifty support personnel.
Our mission to provide guidance for injured individuals and their families extends beyond work-related accidents. Smith, Feddeler, Smith & Miles, P.A. also represents individuals injured as a result of automobile or motorcycle accidents, slip and fall injuries, uninsured motorists, nursing home abuse, injuries from animals and individuals seeking social security disability benefits.
H. Guy Smith could not change the devastating impact of his uncle’s work-related accident and untimely death. A devotion to helping others in similar situations, however, is possible.
We are committed to working on your behalf and guiding you through a time in your life that we understand to be very difficult. You will find professionalism and compassion from the attorneys of Smith, Feddeler, Smith & Miles, P.A. where people come first.

DON’T LOSE YOUR BENEFITS

You must be completely truthful and extremely careful about your statements at all times.

In 1994, the Florida Legislature, at the request of insurance companies, amended the Florida Workers’ Compensation Law to include a way for the insurance companies to avoid the responsibility of providing any workers’ compensation benefits to an injured worker. If any judge of compensation claims, administrative law judge or court finds that an injured worker knowingly or intentionally made or caused to be made any false, fraudulent or misleading oral or written statement for the purpose of obtaining workers’ compensation benefits, the injured worker is not entitled to any benefits. Since this change was made to the law, the courts have applied this law to keep injured workers from receiving medical care or money benefits in many instances.
For example, injured workers have lost their benefits forever when they have:
1) Failed to report prior accidents and injuries even if these prior injuries are to different body parts than those injured in the work-related accident.
2) Failed to report employment and/or wages earned after the work-related accident.
3) Failed to provide a complete medical history to physicians, employers,
insurance adjusters, attorneys or other parties involved in the process of their claim. 4) Performed activities which appear to be inconsistent with the physical capabilities reported to anyone regarding their claim.
Because this is a way for the insurance company to avoid providing any benefits, they routinely look at every part of the history or information the injured worker provides to find any possible way to claim that the injured worker made false statements and/or failed to provide complete information. In addition, the insurance company will periodically place the injured worker under surveillance to monitor his or her activities.