Court strikes fee limits in WC cases.

Attorneys representing injured workers are entitled to a reasonable fee even when the benefit they procure is modest, according to the Florida Supreme Court.

In a 5-2 decision on April 28, the court invalidated a 2009 amendment to the state's workers' compensation law that frequently resulted in miniscule fees for claimants' attorneys even when a judge found their efforts were reasonable and justified.

It was the second setback for the attorney compensation section of the law in just a few days. On April 20, a panel of the First District Court of Appeal struck down another part of the law's compensation section that prevented injured workers or third parties from paying fees to claimants' attorneys. (See story, page 5.)

"The importance of the [Supreme Court] decision is it has really kicked the courthouse doors open to people who have low-value claims," said Tampa attorney Michael Winer, who was co-counsel on the case and also handled the appeal on the First DCA case. "It levels the playing field because insurance carriers have always been free to hire their lawyers and pay their lawyers whatever they want, and they're free to adopt this scorched-earth policy in defending their claim."

The 2009 law limited plaintiffs' lawyers to 20 percent of the first $5,000 in benefits won, 15 percent of the next $5,000, and 10 percent for benefits above that won for 10 years. Any benefits won after 10 years have a limit of 5 percent. The law also makes it a criminal misdemeanor for the attorney to accept any additional fee directly from the client--the issue specifically addressed in the First DCA case. (In a footnote, the Supreme Court noted the First DCA decision and added that issue was not before it in this case.)

The Supreme Court decision came in Castellanos v. Next Door Company, et al., case no. SC 13-2082. It involved an injured worker who was initially denied on his claim, and his attorney spent 107.2 hours pursuing his case, while the employer/carrier (E/C) raised numerous defenses and paid its attorneys for 122 hours of work. The attorney eventually won around $850 in benefits.

The judge of compensation claims (JCC) found the attorney's hourly claim justified, noting the E/C raised 12 specific defenses and its attorneys expended even more time defending the claim. Although the judge found the attorney's claim for time justified and a request for a fee of $350 per hour reasonable, he said the law prohibited him from deviating from the fee schedule or ruling on its constitutionality. Consequently, he awarded 15 percent of the value of the claim, which amounted to about $1.53 an hour for the attorney.

The First DCA upheld that finding, but certified the issue to the Supreme Court on whether the fee schedule constituted a denial of due process under the Florida and U.S. constitutions.

"It is undeniable that without the right to an attorney with a reasonable fee, the workers' compensation law can no longer 'assure the quick and efficient delivery of disability and medical benefits to an injured worker,' as is the stated legislative intent in section 440.015, Florida Statutes (2009), nor can it provide workers with 'full medical care and...