35 Fla. L. Weekly D51b
26 So. 3d 49

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Physician’s report, whether used to support denial of a claim that a bill or claim is not reasonable, related, or necessary, or used to support withdrawal or termination of payments being made to a treating physician, is not required to be based on a physical examination conducted by either the reporting physician or by another physician on the insurance company’s behalf

UNITED AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Petitioner, vs. COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CENTER, LLC., a/a/o Leonie A. Joseph, Respondent. 3rd District. Case No. 3D09-1930. L.T. Case No. 08-331AP, 08-2291. Opinion filed December 30, 2009. A Writ of Certiorari to the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Maria Espinosa Dennis, Scott M. Berstein, and Mindy S. Glazer, Judges. Counsel: Michael J. Neimand, for petitioner. Marlene S. Reiss, for respondent.

(Before WELLS, CORTIÑAS, and SALTER JJ.)

(WELLS, Judge.) United Automobile Insurance Company petitions this court to issue a writ of certiorari quashing a decision of the appellate division of the circuit court, affirming a summary judgment entered following exclusion of the insurance company’s expert medical witness affidavit because that affidavit was not predicated on an independent medical examination conducted by the insurance company. We grant the writ and quash the decision on the authority of this court’s most recent decisions confirming that a physician’s report, whether used to support a section 627.736(4)(b) denial of a claim that a bill or claim is not reasonable, related or necessary or whether used to support withdrawal or termination of payments being made to a treating physician under section 627.736(7)(a), need not be based on a physical examination conducted by either the reporting physician or by another physician on the insurance company’s behalf. See, e.g., United Auto. Ins. Co. v. Perez, 34 Fla. L. Weekly D2267 (Fla. 3d DCA, Nov. 4, 2009); Partners in Health Chiropractic v. United Auto. Ins. Co., 34 Fla. L. Weekly D2177 (Fla. 3d DCA Oct. 21, 2009); United Auto. Ins. Co. v. Santa Fe Med. Ctr. (a/a/o Telmo Lopez), 34 Fla. L. Weekly D2051 (Fla. 3d DCA Oct. 7, 2009); United Auto. Ins. Co. v. Metro Injury & Rehab. Ctr., 16 So. 3d 897 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009).

Petition granted.