Work Injury in Florida Shouldn't Hurt So Much: Florida Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Injured Workers' Rights
The Florida Supreme Court made a decision that should help rectify some injustices that prevented Florida workers hurt on the job from hiring adequate legal representation from an experienced Florida work injury lawyer.
The decision made in Murray v. Mariner Health Care on Oct. 23, 2008, determined that statutory caps on attorney fees were "ambiguous" and not fair to Floridians who suffered a work accident. This means that if you work in Florida and suffer a work accident or are otherwise injured at work or in the course of your job, you may hire a personal injury attorney who may receive professional compensation in fees for legal services.
In 2003, amendments to Florida Workers Compensation law put "statutory caps" on injured workers' attorney fees, limiting the fees a work accident attorney could be paid in a work related injury claim. However the insurance company lawyers were not subject to such fee caps, resulting in gross inequities that left some injured workers without adequate legal representation.
The Murray case cited that the insurance company attorney was earning $150 or more per hour, where the injured worker's lawyer could only be paid $8 an hour. In Florida, that attorney could have made more money behind the donut counter, with tips. Not a good use of a Florida Workers Compensation lawyer's time and experience. And injured workers who are unable to recover compensation from their employers' insurers usually turn to Social Security and Medicaid to survive, further burdening taxpayers.
The Florida Supreme Court ruling should help right the legal scales, re-establishing the intent of Workers Compensation laws that are supposed to be fair to all parties involved: injured workers, employers, and insurers. Work injury attorneys are often needed to fight for the rights of people in Florida who are hurt at work, to make sure they are fairly compensated for lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering.
Florida Supreme Court Affirms Injured Workers’ Rights JusticeNewsFlash.com, Oct. 24, 2008
Related Web Resource
Florida Division of Workers' Compensation
