Christenson v. State

District Court of Appeal of Florida

Christenson v. State

571 So. 2d 103, 1990 Fla. App. LEXIS 9535, 1990 WL 205853

CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida

DecidedDecember 18, 1990

DocketNo. 90-84

StatusPublished

This text of 571 So. 2d 103 (Christenson v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Christenson v. State, 571 So. 2d 103, 1990 Fla. App. LEXIS 9535, 1990 WL 205853 (Fla. Ct. App. 1990).

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Opinion

PER CURIAM.

The final order of restitution under review is affirmed upon a holding that the trial court had the authority under Section 775.089(l)(a), Florida Statutes (1989), to order the defendant Daniel Christenson to [104]*104pay the hospital and doctor bills incurred by the deceased as a result of a physical assault committed by the defendant against the deceased that led to the deceased's death and for which the defendant was criminally convicted.

The trial court properly required the defendant to pay the deceased’s hospital and doctor bills directly to the creditor hospital and doctor involved herein. It was not necessary, as urged, that the formality of a probate estate of the deceased be set up prior to ordering the above restitution, as the subject bills were incurred by the deceased as a result of the subject criminal assault, and, accordingly, the deceased’s estate, when set up, is indisputably liable therefor. See Ballance v. State, 447 So.2d 974 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984).

Moreover, the fact that the deceased delayed needed surgery for the physical injuries which he sustained, as a result of the defendant’s physical beating, which delay may have led to additional medical complications and expenses does not, as urged, absolve the defendant from the subject increased expenses. This is so because all of the aforesaid medical expenses incurred were caused either “directly or indirectly by the defendant’s offense,” § 775.089(l)(a), Fla.Stat. (1989), and would never have been incurred but for the defendant’s criminal conduct. See State v. Williams, 520 So.2d 276 (Fla.1988).

Affirmed.

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PER CURIAM.

The final order of restitution under review is affirmed upon a holding that the trial court had the authority under Section 775.089(l)(a), Florida Statutes (1989), to order the defendant Daniel Christenson to [104]*104pay the hospital and doctor bills incurred by the deceased as a result of a physical assault committed by the defendant against the deceased that led to the deceased's death and for which the defendant was criminally convicted.

The trial court properly required the defendant to pay the deceased’s hospital and doctor bills directly to the creditor hospital and doctor involved herein. It was not necessary, as urged, that the formality of a probate estate of the deceased be set up prior to ordering the above restitution, as the subject bills were incurred by the deceased as a result of the subject criminal assault, and, accordingly, the deceased’s estate, when set up, is indisputably liable therefor. See Ballance v. State, 447 So.2d 974 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984).

Moreover, the fact that the deceased delayed needed surgery for the physical injuries which he sustained, as a result of the defendant’s physical beating, which delay may have led to additional medical complications and expenses does not, as urged, absolve the defendant from the subject increased expenses. This is so because all of the aforesaid medical expenses incurred were caused either “directly or indirectly by the defendant’s offense,” § 775.089(l)(a), Fla.Stat. (1989), and would never have been incurred but for the defendant’s criminal conduct. See State v. Williams, 520 So.2d 276 (Fla.1988).

Affirmed.

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Bluebook (online)

571 So. 2d 103, 1990 Fla. App. LEXIS 9535, 1990 WL 205853, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/christenson-v-state-fladistctapp-1990.

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