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Florida Supreme Court Takes Up Attorney Fee Caps in Workers Comp Cases

November 12, 2014 | Posted in : Fee Issues on Appeal, Legislation / Politics

The Florida Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that asks the justices to decide whether the attorney fee caps in the state’s workers compensation laws are constitutional.  The issue is being followed closely by business, labor, and trial lawyer groups. 

In the high-profile case, Castellanos v. Next Door Company, attorney Mark A. Touby was awarded only $164.54 in attorney fees for helping Marvin Castellanos obtain $822.70 in benefits that the employer carrier initially denied.  A judge of Compensation Claims noted that the attorney was skilled and that the case required nearly 107 hours of work.  The fees translated to a meager $1.53 per hour.

The rigid attorney fee structure is set at 20 percent for the first $5,000; 15 percent for next $5,000 and 10 percent of the remaining amount of benefits secured provided during the first 10 years after the date the claim is filed and 5 percent of benefits secured thereafter.

The controversial attorney fee formula is the result of legislation passed in 2009 in a business friendly Legislature that deleted the word “reasonable” from the statute and mandated that the fees be tied to the level of benefits, applying only to plaintiffs lawyers.  The legislature placed no such fee constraints on attorneys for employers and insurers.