If you're seeking workers' comp benefits in Florida for an on-the-job injury or chronic condition, you might be hesitant to hire a lawyer because of the cost. However, Florida workers’ compensation laws are designed to make hiring a lawyer affordable, by keeping attorneys’ fees relatively low and tying them to the amount of benefits you receive.

How Does a Workers’ Comp Lawyer Get Paid?

In Florida, workers’ comp attorneys are paid on a contingency fee basis. This means the lawyer gets a percentage of the amount you receive as a settlement or an award from a workers' comp judge. You don't pay any fees if you don't win any benefits.

Most workers’ comp lawyers will meet with you for a free initial consultation.

How Are Attorneys' Fees Determined in Florida?

Florida law sets out a tiered schedule for the maximum fees that workers’ comp attorneys may receive, based on the amount of benefits they obtain for injured employees:

• 20% of the first $5,000 in benefits
• 15% of the next $5,000
• 10% of remaining benefits to be provided in the first ten years after the claim was filed, and
• 5% of remaining benefits after ten years.

The statute used to say that workers’ comp judges had to approve the fees “as reasonable,” but the “reasonable” requirement was taken out of the law in 2009. (Fla. Stat. § 440.34 (2019).) Then, in 2016, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the statute’s mandatory fee schedule was an unconstitutional violation of due process rights, because it didn’t allow judges to consider whether the fees adequately compensated lawyers for their work. As the court pointed out, unreasonably low attorneys’ fees limit injured employees’ access to courts by making it difficult for them to hire a lawyer. (Castellanos v. Next Door Co., 192 So.3d 431 (Fla. 2016).)

What are "Reasonable" Fees in Workers' Comp Cases?

The Castellanos court said that the fee schedule in Florida's statute could still be used as a “starting point.” Attorneys may ask workers’ comp judges for an increase if the schedule would result in an unreasonably low fee; lawyers must back up their requests with evidence. When judges are deciding whether fees are reasonable, they should consider various factors, including:

• how much time and skill was needed to win benefits for the injured employee
• the complexity of the case, and
• the normal fees charged in the region for similar legal services.

How Are Legal Costs Handled?

Besides attorneys’ fees, there are other costs involved in pursuing a workers’ comp case. Legal costs may include the fees paid to expert witnesses (such as doctors who testify at a deposition or hearing in support of your claim), the cost of requesting medical records, and filing fees for appeals.

While your lawyer can try to limit legal costs, they’re usually unavoidable. Without medical evidence and expert testimony, it could be difficult or impossible to win your claim. In complicated cases, legal costs can run upwards of thousands of dollars.

Most workers’ comp lawyers won't ask you to cover costs up front. Instead, they'll pay for legal costs and then deduct them from your settlement or award. Although many lawyers will forgive the costs if you don’t receive a settlement or award, this isn’t always the case. So before you hire a lawyer, be sure to discuss fees and ask how costs will be handled.

How Much of My Workers' Comp Settlement Will I Get to Keep?

If you’re considering settling your Florida workers’ comp case, your lawyer should explain how much will be deducted from the settlement amount before you receive the money. In addition to the attorney’s fee and costs that your lawyer paid for in advance, additional amounts might be withheld from the settlement to pay for outstanding medical bills, child support that you owe, and Medicare set-aside agreements. (Learn more about what might be taken out of workers’ comp settlements.)