First DCA Sets Standards to Rebut "Heart-Lung" Presumption
Section 112.18(1), Fla. Stat., says that if a firefighter, law enforcement officer, or corrections officer contracts tuberculosis, heart disease, or hypertension, there arises a presumption that the disease was contracted in the course of his employment. The presumption is rebuttable by the employer, however. What kind of evidence does it take to do so? "Competent, substantial evidence" is all that is necessary, said the First District Court of Appeal in Lentini v. City of West Palm Beach, decided on 5/5/2008. In so doing, the court merely reiterated the holding it had made last year in City of Tarpon Springs v. Vaporis and more recently in Saldana v. Miami-Dade County. Although not discussed in the opinion, a 1979 decision from the Supreme Court of Florida, Caldwell v. Division of Retirement, 372 So.2d 438 (Fla. 1979), had stated that the presumption could be overcome only by "clear and convincing evidence" - a higher standard of proof.
