News & Articles

Following a spirited debate, the Insurance & Banking Subcommittee approved a measure that would reconfigure the workers’ compensation system in Florida. Much of the discussion about PCB IBS 17-01 centered on attorneys’ fees, which under the approved 34-page bill, could be as high as $250 an hour. Business groups insisted that a rate that high would drive up employer costs, …

Bills in both the State House and Senate would allow Florida workers, especially first responders, suffering from job-related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to file workers’ compensation claims. Dr. Deborah Beidel, a psychology professor at the University of Central Florida, says that many first responders are exposed to conditions and events like those commonly experienced in war zones, such as the Pulse …

Fighters from Malhama Tactical, a small organization of private military contractors who are the latest self-proclaimed protectors of oppressed Sunni minorities all over the globe, are the newest such warriors to arrive in Syria. Little is known about their leader, Abu Rofiq, a pseudonym that means “father of Rofiq.” He is apparently a 24-year-old jihadist from Uzbekistan, and many of …

Most states other than Florida have workers’ compensation programs that include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder coverage for first responders, and Senator Keith Perry (R-Gainesville) wants the Sunshine State to join the crowd. In the wake of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, many first responders were diagnosed with PTSD because of the horrific scene at the nightclub. Because the current system does …

48-year-old Orquidea Quezada of Orlando will spend the next 18 months in federal prison after she pleaded guilty to a sprawling workers’ compensation fraud scheme that involved an elaborate employee renting arrangement. U.S. District Judge Henry Lee Adams, Jr. also entered a $585,000 money judgement against Ms. Quezada. According to investigators, Orquicely Construction, LLC fabricated payroll records to obtain various …