If you’ve had an on-the-job injury or illness in New Jersey, you might be concerned that you can’t afford to hire a lawyer to handle your workers’ comp claim. Fortunately, New Jersey law makes hiring an experienced workers’ comp attorney affordable by tightly regulating how—and how much—these lawyers are paid.
In New Jersey, all workers’ comp lawyers are paid on a contingency fee basis. This means your attorney doesn’t receive any payment unless you settle your case or receive a judgment from a workers’ comp judge awarding you compensation. Instead of charging you an hourly rate, your lawyer will get a percentage of your settlement or award.
New Jersey sets an upper limit on the amount of fees that workers’ comp attorneys may receive: 20% of your award or settlement. If your employer’s insurance company has offered you any workers’ comp benefits before a hearing (but after you hired an attorney), the 20% cap is based on that compensation plus any extra amount in a later award. (N.J. Stats § 34:15-64 (2019).)
Unlike many states, New Jersey also allows a workers’ comp judge to order your employer’s insurance company to pay part (or even all) of your attorney’s fee when you’ve received an award after a hearing. That way, at least some of the fee won’t come out of your award. (N.J. Stats § 34:15-64(a) (2019).) The law doesn’t say exactly how the fee should be split; that’s up to the judge to decide. But 60/40 is a typical split, with the insurer responsible for 60% of the total attorney's fee, and 40% coming out of your award. Since the 20% cap still applies, a 60/40 split would mean that no more than 8% of your award would go to paying your lawyer.
A workers’ comp judge must approve the fees that your attorney will be paid. If your case goes to a hearing, the judge will approve fees in the written decision. If you’ve settled your workers’ comp claim with the insurance company, the amount of your attorney’s fee will be spelled out in the settlement agreement, which a judge must review and approve.
In addition to attorneys’ fees, there are other expenses involved in pursuing workers’ comp claims, including the costs of obtaining medical records, court reporters’ fees, and fees for expert witnesses (such as doctors who testify about your injury and medical condition at a deposition or hearing). Typically, workers’ comp lawyers will agree to pay these out-of-pocket costs and then deduct them from your settlement or award. However, you may not have to reimburse all of the costs if you’ve won benefits after a hearing. That’s because New Jersey allows the judge to allocate responsibility for your witness fees to the insurance company, along with the attorney’s fee. The state also sets limits on witness fees. In general, witnesses may receive up to $400 each, but the fees may be higher for doctors, depending on their role.
If you don’t reach a settlement or win an award, many lawyers won’t ask you to reimburse them for the advanced costs. But that’s not always the case, so be sure to ask how costs will be handled before you hire an attorney. And if you’re considering settling your case, make sure you understand exactly what will be deducted from your settlement before you receive the money.
