Covered Condition and Disability: The Final Two Pieces of Florida’s Heart-Lung Presumption

In our last post, we covered the first two requirements for Florida’s heart, lung, and hypertension presumption, being a covered employee and having a clean pre-employment physical. Now let’s turn to the final two elements, what actually counts as a covered condition and what it means to be disabled under the law.

The presumption covers heart disease, hypertension, and tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is rare in these cases today, so most claims involve either heart disease or hypertension. Hypertension itself is fairly straightforward. A doctor needs multiple documented elevated blood pressure readings before a diagnosis is made, and from there the analysis is usually clear cut.

Heart Disease Diagnosis

Heart disease is where things have gotten complicated. For decades, Florida courts relied on a broad medical dictionary definition covering any structural or functional abnormality of the heart. That changed with a 2020 appellate decision that narrowed the definition to essentially clogged arteries, high blood pressure, and valve issues. The immediate effect was a wave of denials for conditions like AFib, PVCs, and other arrhythmias, since electrical problems with the heart don’t fit neatly into that narrower definition. Every cardiologist will tell you an arrhythmia is heart disease, and the medical literature has said so for a hundred years, but the legal definition has not yet caught up. Litigation on this issue is ongoing, and until the appellate courts or the legislature step in with a clearer standard, these cases will keep getting fought one at a time.

Disablement

The fourth and final element is disability, sometimes called disablement. This does not mean you have to be permanently disabled. It means the condition has to actually prevent you from doing your job at some point, even briefly. A heart attack, a bypass, or a pacemaker implant usually satisfies this element without much argument, since time away from work naturally follows. Hypertension is trickier, because most people with high blood pressure never miss a single shift.

To succeed on a hypertension claim, three things generally need to line up on the same day: a diagnosis, some form of treatment such as a new prescription or in office care, and documentation from a doctor that you were kept out of work or placed on light duty because of it. Even a note excusing you for half a day can be enough. Getting sent home early, being placed on light duty, or being told to rest until your blood pressure comes down have all been recognized as sufficient in Florida case law.

Keep Proper Documentation

The common thread across both elements is documentation. Keep a record of your blood pressure readings over time, whether from a home monitor, a fire station check, or your primary care visits. Ask for a written note any time you’re sent home or held out of work. These details, which feel minor in the moment, are often what determines whether a claim succeeds or fails months or years later.

If you’re a first responder dealing with a heart or blood pressure condition and you’re not sure where you stand, don’t guess. Contact Bichler & Longo, PLLC for a free consultation. We handle these presumption claims across Florida every day, and we’ll help you understand exactly what you need to protect your rights.