Florida Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

The workers' compensation community has been waiting for the First District Court of Appeals, to determine whether the present workers' compensation law is unconstitutional. In the case of
Kauffman v. Community Inclusions, Inc., the Court upheld the constitutionality of the law. This means that attorney fees are limited to a percentage of the dollar value of the benefits procured. In the Kauffman case, the Judge found that the attorney had earned a fee of over $25,000.00, due to prolonged litigation, but was only awarded $684.83, because of the strict formula in the law.

The unfortunate consequence of the Kauffman case, is that more and more workers' compensation attorneys will leave the practice, unable to make a living. That phenomenon has already occurred in the State of Texas, where it is nearly impossible to obtain attorney representation in a workers' compensation case.

It is now up to the Florida Supreme Court, to voluntarily review and consider the Kauffman case. Hopefully the Supreme Court will accept review and consider whether it's fair that the insurance carriers can buy attorney representation, while the working people cannot.

The workers' compensation and Social Security Disability law office of Randy Zeldin, is pleased to announce that Sangitha Palaniappa has joined the staff. "Sangi" as she is nicknamed, is pursuing studies in political science with the intent to earn a law degree. She brings her expertise to all facets of Randy Zeldin's law practice, which services all of Palm Beach and Broward Counties.

Ms. Palaniappa, is fluent in the Tamil and Spanish languages. She is an expert in Baharatnatyam dance.

Shame on you Gov. Charlie Crist, for destroying attorney representation of injured Florida workers!! Gov. Charlie Crist, the self-styled "people's governor" has abandoned working people of South Florida. Instead, Gov. Crist has latched on to the big business and insurance lobbies of South Florida, by signing a law that would make attorney representation on many issues unfeasible.

Randy Zeldin, Esq., has been fighting for the rights of injured workers in Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach for over 20 years. Randy Zeldin urges South Florida workers to let Gov. Crist know that he is a big disappointment.

The Florida Supreme Court issued an historic ruling on October 23, 2008, which will once again allow injured workers to obtain legal help. The case of Murray v. Mariner, stresses that attorneys representing injured workers are entitled to "reasonable" attorney fees. This decision will help even the playing field, so that injured workers can fairly compete with high priced lawyers paid by the insurance companies.

Until the Supreme Court's decision, Florida attorneys such as Randy Zeldin of Palm Beach, had to rely on a "formula" percentage fee, which usually resulted in an unreasonable hourly rate. This has led some workers' compensation attorneys to abandon their clients or to give them substandard representation.

Randy Zeldin, with offices in Boca Raton, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, applauds the decision of the Florida Supreme Court. Randy Zeldin is optimistic that Gov. Charlie Crist, will not allow the Florida Legislature to disturb this vital decision

The Florida Supreme Court is poised to hand down an historic decision, which will have great impact on the benefits that injured Florida workers will get or not get. The case, Murray v. Mariners Health, will decide whether the Florida Judges of Compensation Claims can award attorney fees to injured workers, based on the number of hours the Claimant's attorney has spent litigating issues in the case. In the Murray case, the injured worker Ms. Murray was denied all benefits by her insurance carrier. After nearly 85 hours of litigation, the Judge of Compensation Claims ruled for Ms. Murray and she received all workers' compensation benefits to which she was entitled. Her diligent attorney however, was only awarded $684.84, which is equal to $8.11 per hour!

The Murray case is part of a trend I have seen in my 23 years of practice: smaller benefits for injured workers and small fees for the attorneys representing them. Unfortunately, the biggest blow to injured workers was the handiwork of former Gov. Jeb Bush and his Republican allies in the Florida Legislature who devastated the workers' compensation law beginning October 31, 2003. This law, known as Senate Bill 50A, heavily limited many rights and benefits of injured workers.

Continue reading "Florida Injured Workers in Hands of Florida Supreme Court" »