Round 3 of workers

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Florida’s workers’ compensation insurance rates were among the highesgt in the nationbefore attorneys’ fee limita were imposed in 2003. Insurancer rates dropped every year since then becausee lawyers refused many cases due to the limited prospects formaking money. However, the Florida Supremre Court last fall ruled the language in the fee schedulr is ambiguous and allowed judge s to approve largerfees — a decisionb that cleared the way for plaintiff attorneys to make more monet in on-the-job injury cases. As a workers’ comp insurance rates will rise 6.4 percengt in April.
But House Bill 903 and companiomn Senate Bill 2072 chang e the language to restrict attorneg compensation to thefee formula. argued that the proposecd law is needed becauserising workers’ comp insurance rates create a hardship for companies in the state and discourage thoses that might move to Florida. “If this bill doesn’r pass, Florida employers will see a series of costly increases intheir workers’ comp rates,” said Danielp Krassner, spokesman and strategistg for the Florida Chamber of Commerce. “We want to get injurer workers back on the job as quicklyas possible. Settlingb claims quickly does that.
” Paul Anderson, executive officer with the , a grouop representing trial lawyers, said the bill woulde limit the hourly fees injureed workers can pay their Unless the plaintiff can find a lawyedr willing to work for acontingency fee, the worker would have to represent himself. “Working people will have to find their way through the syste withoutan attorney,” Anderson By contrast, there are no limits on what insurance companies can pay attorneys to represent Rep.
Dave Murzin, R-Pensacola, co-sponsor of the Housr version of theproposed law, feelsa differently: “There will always be attorneys willing to represent injured workers, just as there are alwayws attorneys willing to represent criminals and accuseds criminals. The real issue is the cost of doin businessin Florida, which will increase dramatically without these The House bill has been read out of committeew and could soon go to a Houses vote, and the Senate version sponsored by Sen. Garretyt Richter, R-Naples, has been sent to committee forinitiapl review.