440.31

Witness fees.

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440.31 Witness fees.Each witness who appears in obedience to a subpoena shall be entitled to the same fees as witnesses in a civil action in the circuit court; however, any expert witness, as defined in Rule 1.390(a) of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, who shall have testified in any proceeding under this chapter shall be allowed a witness fee, including the cost of any exhibits used by such witness, in such reasonable amount as the judge of compensation claims may determine, not in excess of the rate prevailing in the locality for witness fees for such expert witnesses in workers’ compensation proceedings, notwithstanding the limitation provided in s. 92.231.
History.s. 31, ch. 17481, 1935; CGL 1936 Supp. 5966(31); s. 9, ch. 29778, 1955; s. 2, ch. 67-554; s. 23, ch. 78-300; ss. 24, 124, ch. 79-40; s. 21, ch. 79-312; s. 43, ch. 89-289; s. 56, ch. 90-201; s. 52, ch. 91-1; s. 8, ch. 91-46.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12 cases, 1967–2012 · leading case: Travieso v. Travieso
Travieso v. Travieso (1985) fla · cites it 4× “Nevertheless, the Supreme Court was interpreting a workers compensation statute when it said: *1186 It is our view, in accord with that of the commission, that the statutory provision, F.S.A. § 440.31, for the award of expert fees authorizes only the payment of fees to experts…”
Murphy v. Tallardy (1982) fladistctapp · cites it 4× “1967), a workers' compensation case that held that Section 440.31, Florida Statutes (1967) was not intended to allow expert witness fees for lawyers who testify in compensation cases relative to a claimant's attorney's fees.”
Paulk v. School Bd. of Palm Beach County (1993) fladistctapp · cites it 3× “30, Florida Statutes, or section 440.31, Florida Statutes. While the latter enactments contain general provisions relating to the use of depositions and certain witness fees, section *262 440.”
Southern Bakeries v. Cooper (1995) fladistctapp · cites it 2× “(1991); see also § 440.31, Fla. Stat. (1991). However, there was no provision which would generally obligate another party to pay for the claimant's chosen medical examination.”
CRITTENDEN ORANGE BLOSSOM v. Stone (1986) fladistctapp · cites it 2× “[2] In Zabawczuk , the court held that section 440.31, Florida Statutes, providing for payment of expert witnesses fees, applied only to experts testifying with reference to direct benefits to the claimant, and was never intended to cover fees of witnesses testifying as to…”
Robert & Company Associates v. Zabawczuk (1967) fla · cites it 2× “It is our view, in accord with that of the commission, that the statutory provision, F.S.A. § 440.31, [1] for the award of expert *804 fees authorizes only the payment of fees to experts testifying in the case with reference to direct benefits to the claimant, and that the…”
Mills v. Aronovitz (1981) fladistctapp · cites it 2× “1967) [holding under the analogous workers' compensation statute, Section 440.31, Florida Statutes (1967), which authorizes fees to "any expert witness .”
Albertini v. McDonald's (1981) fladistctapp “Expert witness fees and costs of prosecution of a claim, on the other hand, are recoverable under Florida Statutes, Section 440.31 or Section 440.-32, neither of which require prior “authorization” by an employer or carrier.”
WA Doss & Sons, Inc. v. Barbato (1986) fladistctapp · cites it 4× “We also reverse the deputy's award of expert witness fees to the two attorneys who testified on behalf of the claimant's attorney. The Florida Supreme Court has clearly established that attorneys who testify on the issue of attorney's fees in worker's compensation cases are not…”
Shannon v. Cheney Bros. Inc. (2012) fladistctapp · cites it 4× “Alternatively, Shannon’s counsel requested payment of expert witness fees under section 440.31, Florida *1231 Statutes (2010).”
Mt. Sinai Medical Center v. Lack (1980) fladistctapp “There is no record of the appellee's ever requesting authorization for their treatment, of the doctors' complying with the filing requirements of Section 440.31 or of any excuse for these failures.”
Powell v. Dickerson of Florida, Inc. (1990) fladistctapp · cites it 2× “Section 440.31 Florida Statutes provides in pertinent part: Each witness who appears in obedience to a subpoena shall be entitled to the same fees as witnesses in a civil action in the circuit court; however, any expert witness, as defined in Rule 1.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.

This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney (Florida Bar No. 39104). Attorney Syfert regularly handles Chapter 440 matters in the context of workers' compensation claims and represents clients throughout Northeast Florida. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.