Part 1: The Workers' Compensation Process
- How do I know if I Have a Workers' Compensation Claim?
- How Do I File a Workers' Compensation Claim?
- Is There a Time Limit for Filing My Claim?
- What Benefits Am I Entitled To?
- Independent Medical Examinations
- The Hearing Process
- After the Hearing – Decisions, Payments and Appeals
- Finalization of a Workers' Compensation Claim
- Attorneys' Fees
Part 2: Special Issues In Workers' Compensation
ATTORNEYS' FEES
The Workers' Compensation Law prohibits direct payments to attorneys. You will never write our office a check. We receive our fees directly from the insurance carriers. The fees do, however, come out of the lost wage or indemnity benefits we obtain for you. Our fees are generally 10% of the money we generate for you and must be approved by a Workers' Compensation Law Judge. The judge will approve fees up to $450.00 at the end of a hearing. Fees over $450.00 require a formal fee application that is reviewed by a judge, and confirmed with a formal decision approving, modifying or denying the fee. We request fees that are reasonable based on the work we do behind the scenes in preparation for your hearings as well as our actual appearances at the hearings.
If you are classified with a permanent partial disability and continue to receive weekly benefits, our fee is generally ten times the ongoing weekly benefit rate. These "classification" fees are usually paid out over time, by deducting the fee at $10.00 or $20.00 per week until it is paid. Once the attorney's fee is paid in full, the weekly benefit will automatically return to the classification rate.