Gone are the days when scores of cases were adjudicated on a daily basis in most jurisdictions. Many factors have caused the system to shift from high gear to what seems like reverse. The manufacturing workforce has dwindled, conditions have become safer, a good thing, and reforms to the system have thrown in hurtles that appear insurmountable to obtain benefits. The tightening of recovery procedures by collateral sources have changed the flow, from a tidal wave of dispositions, to a dribble through the funnel.
Fewer and fewer attorneys now participate in workers' compensation claims, even though other areas of the legal economy have gone into the tank. Those who are remaining are attempting to be even more selective in what representation they undertake. With limited assets to invest there needs to be a an economic certainty for recovery more than ever.
"This bill requires that in cases in which a workers’ compensation petitioner has received compensation from an insurance company prior to any judgment or award, the reasonable allowance for attorney fees will be based upon the sum of the amount of compensation already received by the petitioner, and the amount of the judgment or award in excess of the amount of compensation already received by the petitioner. Currently, in cases in which a petitioner has received compensation prior to a judgment or award, a reasonable attorney fee is based upon only that part of the judgment or award that is in excess of the amount of compensation already received by the petitioner."
