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Florida Supreme Court Helps Restore Rights of Injured Workers

As many know, the legislature and the judicial branch don’t always agree on how the laws of Florida should be interpreted. Luckily for those injured on the job in our state, the Florida Supreme Court recently sided on the part of those suffering from disabling injuries. Before 2003, if someone had to hire a lawyer to get medical treatment or other benefits an insurance company was wrongfully denying, and won their case in court, insurance companies would have to pay that lawyer a reasonable fee. The reason was to make sure disabled workers would be able to hire a qualified, experienced lawyer to fight for them. In 2003, Florida’s Governor signed a bill severely limiting access to courts for those having a dispute with their insurance company or employer over disability or medical treatment. That law prevented attorneys from being awarded reasonable fees if they beat the insurance companies in court.

The Florida Supreme Court recently heard a case involving Emma Murray, a certified nursing assistant who suffered a severe injury that required surgery. The insurance company denied the claim and lost at trial. The attorney for Ms. Murray was only awarded a fee of $684.84 ($8 per hour) for his work in taking the case all the way through trial, while the insurance company had hired a lawyer they paid $125 per hour for 135 hours of work, totaling $16,050. The Judge involved acknowledged that the low award of fees to Ms. Murray was "manifestly unfair," but that the law required it. On appeal, the Supreme Court realized that if this absurd outcome is permitted to continue, injured workers will not be able to hire qualified lawyers, but the insurance companies will. The Court found the 2003 workers’ compensation law ambiguous and struck those portions that limit reasonable attorney fee awards to injured workers who win their cases. What this means to our clients is that they can afford to get an experienced lawyer to protect their rights again, no matter how many trials or appeals might be needed to get the job done.

Our office will now be paid a fee based upon a reasonable hourly rate for all the work performed. Not only will this ruling help our clients, but it should also help to stop insurance companies from denying benefits arbitrarily if you have an attorney, since those companies would have to pay higher fees for losing in court.

Our firm helps those harmed by others recover damages from auto accidents, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, workers’ compensation and other unfortunate incidents. When our clients are injured due to the mistakes or intentional acts of others, there are certain categories of compensation a jury can award to make them whole.

Economic damages are those meant to pay for actual bills the plaintiff will incur. These include past and future medical bills, past and future and lost wages, nursing or attendant care, rental cars, repairs to property and other incidental losses.

The next category would be non-economic damages including pain and suffering. This category is much harder to calculate. Juries are left to decide after hearing all the testimony just how much would be appropriate. These awards include payments for disfigurement and the loss of companionship of family members.

Punitive damages are sometimes permitted by the court upon a finding that the defendant’s conduct was outrageous, malicious, or "so reckless that it constituted a conscious disregard or indifference to the life, safety, or rights of persons exposed to such conduct." Punitive damages are designed to punish such individuals and to serve as an example to others to deter them from similar conduct.

Each year, our office also helps people who have suffered losses due to the negligence of the State of Florida, or one of its subdivisions. When this occurs, the maximum recovery for all damages is generally limited to $100,000. However, in serious injury cases, this can lead to ridiculous outcomes. Therefore, Florida does allow those who receive a large verdict to request that the legislature approve a bill allowing payment of monies beyond $100,000 to the victims or their family.

Our social security clients generally have no income, very little support from family or friends, and no significant assets. When they apply for disability, they can often wait up to two years or more to have a hearing with a Judge. Considering our bad economy, it seems logical that more disabled individuals will remain unemployed and have to apply for these important benefits. As a result, wait times could increase even more.

Fortunately, the Social Security Administration has taken some steps to relieve these burdens. New judges have recently been appointed to handle cases in our area. Also, judges have begun hearing some cases in outlying areas by video conference to avoid further delay and to help with those who have limited transportation. Our office is also glad to see that all new disability files we bring to trial are downloaded to computer discs for easy access and accuracy.

The best advice we can give to those thinking of applying for social security is to apply early. If you wait, it will only delay your benefits further and could also make your case very hard to win. As you work and pay taxes, a part of your paycheck goes to social security to fund your own potential entitlement to SSD benefits should you later become disabled. After your last date of employment, applicants have a set period of time in which to prove their disability status to receive benefits.

Please call your insurance agent today and make sure you have uninsured motorist(UM) coverage on your policy. Everyone on the road should have as much of this insurance as they can afford in case another driver hits you but cannot pay your bills. This happens more frequently than you might imagine.

Each year we meet countless people who were afraid to call because they thought there might be some charge to come in and speak with an attorney in person. Our office provides free advice whenever needed. We are glad to help those who just need guidance and information to protect their rights. If you or a friend have questions, call at any time.

Our firm works on a full contingency basis. What that means is, no matter what kind of case we handle, we do not get paid unless our client recovers. In some cases, such as workers’ compensation, many of our clients do not pay any fee or cost for the work we do to get important medical care and lost wages authorized. If you have questions about our services, just call our offices for more information.

850-434-8778 / 601 N. Baylen St. Pensacola

850-785-8011 / 929 Jenks Ave. Panama City