1DCA Holds “Tolling” Suspends the Statute of Limitations Under Section 440.19(2)

In Estes v. Palm Beach County School District, Case No. 1D2025-0079, the First DCA (en banc) addressed whether the employer/carrier’s payment of workers’ compensation benefits affects the statute of limitations under section 440.19.

The JCC dismissed the petition for benefits as untimely under prior panel decisions that treated section 440.19(2) as a one-year extension measured from the last date benefits were provided.

The First DCA set aside the final order, holding that “toll” in section 440.19(2) means to suspend or stop temporarily the running of the two-year limitations period in section 440.19(1). The court concluded the petition was timely under this interpretation and remanded for further proceedings.

Source: Written Opinion (PDF)