In this workers’ compensation case, Claimant filed a notice of appeal on February 7, 2013, challenging a February 6, 2012, “final evidentiary order,” dismissing with prejudice his claims for permanent total disability benefits. We conclude that the February 6, 2012, order was a final appealable order under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.180(b)(1), which order was not appealed within thirty days of rendition. We therefore dismiss this appeal as untimely.
Background
On February 7, 2013, Claimant filed a notice of appeal challenging a February 6, 2012, “final evidentiary order,” dismissing with prejudice his claims for permanent total disability benefits contained within two November 2011 petitions for benefits. Notably, however, this order did not dismiss all of the claims contained in the pending petitions for benefits; instead, it directed that the surviving claims (for temporary disability benefits) “proceed to mediation,” a necessary statutory condition-precedent to the conduction of a final hearing and the adjudication of the claims on the merits. Claimant, being cognizant of the fact that the appealed order was rendered more than one year before the notice of appeal was filed, posited in his notice of appeal that the February 2012 order did not become final until the entry of a subsequent order, entered on January 8, 2013, which order approved the parties’
Upon receiving Claimant’s notice of appeal, this Court screened the appealed order to determine whether it has jurisdiction over this case — as is does in each appeal filed with this court — based on the timeliness of the appeal and the finality of the order appealed. Because the claims for permanent total disability benefits were disposed of with finality in the February 7, 2012, order, and further, because the surviving claims for temporary disability benefits were reserved upon and had not been the subject of a mediation conference, this Court entered an order requiring Claimant to show cause why the February 6, 2012, order should not be considered a final order under this Court’s decision in Parodi v. Fla. Contracting Co., Inc.,
Analysis
Section 440.25(5)(a), Florida Statutes (2011), provides that “Procedures with respect to appeals from orders of judges of compensation claims shall be governed by rules adopted by the Supreme Court.” Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.180 — the appellate rule adopted by the Florida Supreme Court relative to appeals from workers’ compensation orders — provides that this Court shall review “any final order,” as well as any nonfinal order that adjudicates jurisdiction, venue, or compensability (provided certain certifications regarding the case are made by the lower tribunal). See Fla. RApp. P. 9.180(b)(1). This Court has held that in the context of a workers’ compensation case, an order that decides all issues then ripe for adjudication is considered to be a “final order” — even if the order does not represent an end to all judicial labor in the case, and even where additional claims not then ripe for adjudication remain pending. See Bradley v. Hurricane Rest.,
This court, accounting for the sequential nature of the workers’ compensation adjudicatory process, has consistently held that a final workers’ compensation order is one that finally disposes of all claims that are procedurally ripe to be adjudicated. See Vazquez v. Truly Nolan of Am.,
DISMISSED.
Notes
. We note that it would be helpful for litigants and this Court if judges of compensation claims were to include, within orders reserving adjudication on pending petitions and claims, a declaration as to whether the reserved upon claims have been subjected to a mediation conference. With this information established, there should be little confusion as to whether a given order is final and appeal-able.