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Florida Supreme Court Rules In Favor of Injured Workers

By Eddie Farah

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday stepped in to help injured workers.

Ever since a controversial 2003 reform of the state’s workers’ compensation law, lawyer’s fees have been capped.

In the case before the court this week, the attorney for Emma Murray was compensated $8 an hour. The state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a lawyer representing an injured worker is entitled to a "reasonable" fee and $8 an hour is not reasonable.

In the 5-0 ruling of Emma Murray vs. Mariner Health Care, Murray, a nurse in her late 50s, was injured hoisting a patient in a nursing home. Her employer’s insurance carrier denied her claim saying her condition was pre-existing.

Her Port Charlotte lawyer won $3,244 in back wages and medical costs and Mariner Health had to pay her court costs which amounted to $648 for 80 hours of work. Murray’s lawyer argued that since Mariner Health paid its lawyer $150-$200 an hour, which totaled $16,000, that Murray faced an unconstitutional disadvantage.

He won the argument on the ambiguous definition of "reasonable" attorney fees, not on the constitutional argument.

The 2003 reform gives insurers incentive to deny legitimate claims like Murray's, since few lawyers will take on complex and expensive cases for such meager fees. Since the reform, rates have fallen nearly 60 percent but so has the ability to address a citizen’s injury in court.

Nobody is getting rich here. Farah and Farah continues to take these cases and we have a staff to address workers' comp cases. What’s at stake is a person’s ability to receive compensation for medical bills and lost wages that they are entitled to, while they recover from an on-the-work injury.

What is dignity worth? Priceless.

The state's insurance commissioner will review the decision to determine the impact on workers' comp insurance.

Expect a face-off during the upcoming legislative session between the U.S. Chamber representing the business community that wants to keep down the cost of workers' comp insurance, and advocates for labor and citizens.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Full post as published by Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer on October 25, 2008 (boomark / email).