Karen J. Cullen was born in Miami, Florida. She obtained her Bachelor of Science Degree from Stetson University in 1993, where she majored in mathematics, and graduated from the University of Miami, School of Law, with a Juris Doctorate Degree, cum laude in 1996. Ms. Cullen was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1997. She is also admitted to practice before the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal.

Ms. Cullen joined the law firm in June 1997, and became a partner in January 2001. For nearly twenty five (25) years Ms. Cullen’s practice has focused on the defense of workers’ compensation claims. She has tried a substantial number of workers’ compensation claims before judges in the Central Florida area. She has prepared briefs and presented oral argument before the First District Court of Appeal on workers’ compensation matters. She and the firm also have experience perfecting the recovery of third-party liens pursuant to Section 440.39, Florida Statutes.

Ms. Cullen is known for her significant experience in the defense of cases involving Sections 112.18 and 112.181, Florida Statutes (the statutory presumptions applicable to firefighters, law enforcement officers, correctional officers and/or emergency rescue or public safety workers). Ms. Cullen’s experience with presumption claims ranges from the initial 120 day investigation stage all the way through the trial and appellate phases. She has also lectured extensively on the handling of claims involving the statutory presumptions.

Board Certifications

Ms. Cullen became Board Certified as a Specialist in the area of Workers' Compensation law in August 2003.

Bar Association or Section Affiliations

Ms. Cullen is a member of the planning committee for the Florida Bar Workers’ Compensation Forum (2013 – 2019), the Orange County Bar Association, (former Orange County Bar Association Chair, Workers’ Compensation Section), the Central Florida Association for Women Lawyers (CFAWL), the Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS) and Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA). She is a member of the Executive Council for the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Florida Bar and has been since 2013. Ms. Cullen is also a member of the faculty for the 2013, 2015 and 2017 Workers’ Compensation Trial Advocacy Workshop. She has served as a member of the Panel for the Breakout at the Workers’ Compensation Convention – First Responder Heart Claims: The Current State of Law and Medicine (2011-2019). She has also served as a member of the Panel for the Heart Lung Bill: A Legal, Medical, and Judicial Perspective for the 2014 and 2015 Public Risk Management Association Annual State Conference. In 2015 and 2016, Ms. Cullen and Mr. Broussard presented to the Florida Sheriffs Association’s Annual Executive Leadership Conference on presumption claims. Ms. Cullen has (in 2015 and 2016) lectured to the Second Friday Judicial Legal Education Seminar for the Judges of Compensation Claims on Statutory Presumptions.

Articles Published

• Firefighter Cancer Presumption Proposed Florida Senate Bill Would Create Statutory Presumption for Cancer
• Grice is Down, But not Out?
• Statute of Limitations Suffers Another Setback
• Task Force Aims to Pump up “Heart Lung Bill”
• Legislative Changes to Section 112.18 (co-authored)
• A Permanent Impairment Rating is not Disability for Purposes of Entitlement to the Presumption
• To Trash or Not to Trash? That is the Question
• Emma Murray v. Mariner Health – What to Expect Now…
• The Florida First District Court of Appeal Holds Multiple Dates of Accident are Possible in Occupational Disease Cases (co-authored)
• Legislative Watch: Potential Changes to Chapter 112
• Current Issues & Trends in Workers’ Compensation (co-authored)
• Vital News for the Public Entity Employer: Firefighter/EMT’s Hepatitis C not compensable under any theory of recovery
• Recent JCC Decisions Question the Rate and Scope of Mileage Reimbursement