Greetings, 

Below is a link to a  summary of the JCC decisions in the month of September on claimant’s attorney fees on our firm’s website.   (If you don’t receive a copy of our firm’s Briefly Speaking emails, JCC and DCA decisions summarized by my partner and former JCC Tom Portuallo, please email esantos@eraclides.com).

Here’s a September wrap up for you.   There were 18 JCC cases dealing with attorney fees in September, this does not include any stipulations by the parties.  Only the cases where the JCC had to make the decision.  Of the 18:

1.  Fee entitlement was denied in 6 cases.  It appears in several of these cases  the claimant’s attorneys were testing the boundaries of the law.  Timely PFB responses were one of the keys in the JCC’s denial of fees.

• The IB case is interesting, the doctor did not assign a  rating at MMI but the E/C paid within 14 days of getting the rating.   No fees due even though paid more than 30 days after the PFB.
• The E/C did not have to schedule an appt at the walkin clinic.

2.   The various fees awarded were:

• $20,000
• $13,000
• $120,000
• $53,000
• $2,800
• $7,500
• $53,000
• $27,000

3.   The hourly rates awarded varied from a low of $250 to a high of $375.

• In one case the JCC found $252 an hour was unreasonable and awarded $350.
• The rates awarded were $275, $350, $250, $250, $375, $275, $325 and $300 

Here is a link to all of the decisions.   Basically on these the JCC’s are being strict on entitlement, but when fees are being awarded…it hurts. At a rate of $300 an hour,  fees add up pretty quickly.   A good reminder to pick your battles.

https://eraclides.com/fl-case-law-summaries-102416/

Thanks,

Sincerely, Morgan Indek | Partner