Workers' Comp Fees.

Rule 4-1.5 (a) through (f) Rules Regulating The Florida Bar sets forth the parameters for receipt of attorneys' fees for Florida's lawyers. The structure seems fair except for attorneys who represent injured workers under Florida's workers' compensation law.

The rules don't seem to apply to injured workers' attorneys. Florida Statute [section]440.34 requires an injured worker's attorney to take a structured fee of 20 percent of the first $5,000 of the amount of the benefits secured; 15 percent of the next $5,000 of the amount of the benefits secured; and 10 percent of the remaining amount of the benefits secured. Thus, on a settlement of $10,000, an injured worker's attorney will be awarded $1,750, a fee of less than 18 percent. On a settlement of $20,000, an injured worker's attorney is forced to accept $2,750, a fee of less than 14 percent. On a settlement of $100,000, an injured worker's attorney is forced to accept $10,750, a fee of less than 11 percent.

Workers' compensation is certainly not the most glamorous area of the law, but when people get hurt on the job, workers' compensation is really the only recourse they have, and they need an attorney. While not a sexy area of practice, it is incredibly important. The lawyers who represent injured workers deserve a fair attorney fee entitlement.

The lawyers who represent injured workers are frequently pitted in court against some of the most zealous, competent, and well-funded insurance defense lawyers in the country. I understand that these defense lawyers are doing their jobs, which is to deny claims and save money for their insurance company clients. My problem is that it is at the expense of an injured worker's health and wellbeing. But the competition between the defense lawyers and the injured workers' lawyers warrants a better respect toward the injured worker's attorney.

Recently in the case of Miles v. City of Edgewater Police Department, 190 So. 3d 171 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016), the court ruled that an injured worker may waive his limitation on his attorney's fees and agree to pay his attorney with his own funds, subject to the judge of compensation claim's finding that the fee is reasonable. The language is broad and clearly sets forth that an injured worker has the freedom under the U.S. Constitution to form a contract with his attorney. The Miles case clearly states that the restrictions in [section]440.34 (discussed above) are unconstitutional violations of a claimant's rights to...