Rayford H. Taylor is Of Counsel in the HBS Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Tallahassee offices. He received his undergraduate degree from Florida State University and his Juris Doctor from Florida State University, where he also served on the Board of Directors for several years.
After completing law school, he was in private practice with Taylor, Brion, Buker and Green, P.A. He was recruited to head the CLE Division of The Florida Bar and served in that position for three years, then was promoted to serve as the Bar’s General and Legislative Counsel. Rayford was responsible for lobbying for and coordinating all legislative issues involving the Bar, its sections and committees, and the legal profession in Florida. As General Counsel, he was responsible for coordinating and consulting on all litigation involving The Bar.
During his time at The Florida Bar, the Florida Supreme Court approved the creation of an advanced certification program for attorneys in multiple areas of the law. Rayford was responsible for the establishment, organization, and operation of those programs until leaving the Bar to enter into private practice.
Rayford was a founding and managing partner of Stiles, Taylor and Grace, P.A., a Florida-based firm representing the business and insurance community. He represented clients before the Florida Legislature, the courts, and various state agencies and handled workers compensation cases throughout North Florida. He opened and managed that firm’s first branch office in Tallahassee and subsequently its Atlanta office from 2002 through 2010.
In 2011, he joined Casey Gilson, LLC, to focus entirely on workers’ compensation defense and appellate practice. During this time, he represented clients throughout both Georgia and Florida. He joined HBS in 2016 to continue this type of representation.
Rayford has handled over 200 appeals before the Florida Supreme court, the Georgia Supreme Court, and all five appellate district courts in Florida where he maintains a successful winning percentage of over 95%. He has extensive experience representing various legal groups and corporate clients before the Florida legislature as well as clients before various Florida and Georgia executive branch agencies. He has represented businesses and insurance companies in workers compensation matters in Florida and in Georgia for a number of years.
He regularly lectures on various workers’ compensation issues and topics at programs presented by the American Bar Association, The Florida Bar, the Georgia Bar, and the Atlanta Claims Association. He was one of the founding members of the National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network and throughout his membership served as Treasurer, Vice-President, and on the Board of Directors for the organization. In 2008, he was inducted into the Charter Class of the National College of Workers Compensation Lawyers, where he served as the first Nomination Committee chair and its second President. Currently, he is an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors of the College.
Publications
•Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Proposes Changes Under Section 111
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; March 5, 2024
•Florida’s One-Time Change Provision & Consequences for Employer/Carrier Failure to Act
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; March 31, 2023
•Florida Court Allows Bonus Paid After Date of Accident to be Added to Workers’ Compensation Wages Amount
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; February 4, 2022
•Recent Appellate Decisions Interpreting Florida’s Workers Compensation Statute
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; January 24, 2022
•Florida’s First District Court Of Appeal Again Rules The Six-Month Limitation On Temporary Indemnity Benefits For Mental Injury Does Not Apply If The Injured Worker Did Not Receive Permanent Impairment Benefits For Their Physical Injury
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; August 10, 2021
•Florida Employers Cannot Be Required to Pay For an Evaluation by a Health Care Provider That Has, As Its Sole Purpose, a Recommendation for Marijuana Treatment
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; July 23, 2021
•Florida Court Rules Receipt of Unemployment Compensation Benefits are Primary and Employer/Carriers Are Not Required to Affirmatively Assert an Offset Defense Prior to Payment of Any Temporary Partial Disability Benefits
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; July 23, 2021
•The Florida First District Court of Appeal Has Again Interpreted Section 440.13(2)(F) Fla. Stat., The “One Time Change” Statute, To Permit an Injured Worker to Select Their Own Physician When an Alternate Physician Was Not Timely Provided
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; June 30, 2021
•Florida Employers and Carriers May Be Subject To Monetary Damage Awards to Claimants in Rule NISI Proceedings Following Recent Appellate Court Decision
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; June 23, 2021
•Stunt Performer’s $8 Million Judgement Was Reversed Because Employers Had Workers’ Compensation Immunity
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; June 14, 2021
•A Florida Appellate Court Ruled Cancellation of a Workers’ Compensation Policy for Nonpayment Was Effective, Even Though the Insured Employer Had a Certificate of Insurance
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; March 29, 2021
•2021 Florida Workers’ Compensation Legislation
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; March 24, 2021
•Georgia Workers’ Compensation Insurance Policy - A Brief Discussion
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; March 2, 2021
•Florida Employer/Carriers Should Specifically Identify Each Body Part And The Type Of Injury Accepted As Compensable
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; September 28, 2020
•What Constitutes Provision Of An Alternate Physician In Florida?
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; June 9 2020
•COVID-19 And Workers’ Compensation Liability Policy Coverage
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; May 26, 2020
•Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Requires Workers’ Compensation For Front Line State Employees
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; April 15, 2020
•Florida’s Expert Medical Adviser (EMA) Statute Is Constitutional
HBS Workers’ Compensation Blog; June 28, 2019
In the Press
Florida Court Clarifies When a Workers’ Compensation Carrier’s Subrogation Lien Should be Calculated Following a Third-Party Settlement
February 25, 2025
In the recent case of Liberty Mutual Insurance Company v. Robert A. Lee, et al., Case No.: 6D2023-2377, the Florida Court of Appeals ruled that a workers’ compensation carrier’s subrogation lien should be calculated following a third-party settlement on the date of equitable distribution rather than the actual date of the third-party settlement.
