The Cost of a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer in Pennsylvania

If you were injured at work and need help with your Workers’ Comp benefits, you may be wondering whether you can afford a lawyer and how you will pay for legal services if you aren’t even working or getting a paycheck right now.  Fortunately, Workers’ Comp lawyers are often paid out of the winnings in your case, and fees are capped.  Moreover, other costs you incur in your case can often be paid by the insurance carrier anyway.

Generally, Workers’ Compensation lawyers use a contingency fee, meaning you pay $0 up front and only pay them if you win your case.  The payment the lawyer receives is capped by statute at 20% of the settlement (or 20% of wage-loss benefits for a certain period if you receive ongoing benefits).  Other fees incurred in your case are usually paid by the lawyer and reimbursed by the insurance carrier when you win your case, but you may also be able to get your lawyer’s fees paid by the insurance carrier in some circumstances.

Call our Pennsylvania Certified Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at Cardamone Law at (267) 651-7945 for help with your case today.

Contingency Fees for Workers’ Compensation Attorneys in Pennsylvania

The typical way that injury lawyers of all kinds are paid is through a contingency fee agreement.  This agreement between the lawyer and the client says that the client does not have to pay the lawyer up front for their services, and the payment instead comes out of the client’s winnings when the case is over.  In general, this means that your lawyer does not get paid unless and until they win your case.

Our Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation lawyers typically use these fees, and we are subject to additional limitations put in place by Section 442 of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act.  While attorneys that might handle your case through a lawsuit can typically charge around 33% of your total winnings or more, Workers’ Comp lawyers are limited to a maximum of 20% of the winnings from the case before the Workers’ Comp Judge.  Agreements for fees also need to be approved by the judge.

In some cases, the specific work before the judge does not involve any actual settlement or monetary payments, but still comes as a “successful” case.  In those cases, the judge can approve other reasonable fees regardless of what percent they would be.

In cases of settlements – known as “compromise and release settlements,” where the worker stops their claim and the insurance carrier pays them a lump sum of money – the lawyer can receive up to 20% of that for their reasonable attorney’s fees.  In cases where there are ongoing payments made to the worker, the lawyer instead collects 20% of the wage-loss damages for a set amount of time to fully pay off the services.

It is important to review any retainer agreements or contingency fee agreements your lawyer gives you.  There may be specific details about what happens to certain fees and expenses if you lose your case or if you drop the case, and there may be other expenses that could pass through to you.

Getting Attorney’s Fees from the Insurance Carrier in Workers’ Comp Cases

Section 440 of the Act actually authorizes lawyers to claim a few areas of damages from the insurance carrier or the employer – i.e., the defendant in the case.  Under subsection (a) of this section, we can claim compensation to cover “a reasonable sum” for witnesses, medical exams you need, and even attorney’s fees when the defendant contests the claim.  However, the insurance carrier only has to pay these attorney’s fees under certain conditions.

For a case to be “contested,” it means that the insurance carrier is denying your claim and saying that you do not get Workers’ Comp benefits for one reason or another.  This denial could be because they think your injury was not work-related or because they think you caused it by being drunk at work.  It is, however, possible that the insurance carrier denied your claim without reviewing it, in bad faith, or because they simply thought it was too expensive and that they might win before a judge and avoid payment.  In some cases, they might not have even responded at all.

When the insurance carrier has no “reasonable basis” for contesting your claim, they pay the attorney’s fees when you win.  If they do have a legitimate argument to present, then the attorney’s fees come out of your settlement instead.  By making the insurance carrier pay for your lawyer when they frivolously deny claims, the goal is to push insurance carriers toward more careful consideration of cases, ideally getting more claims paid or settled without needing to go to court.  However, many insurance carriers still deny claims for no reason or for bad reasons, hoping the worker will just give up and never bring a claim petition before a judge.

When the insurance carrier has no good reason for denying your claim or simply ignores your claim, they may also open themselves up to additional penalties for their malfeasance, which can ultimately put more money in your pocket.

Other Expenses in Workers’ Compensation Claims in Pennsylvania

As mentioned, our lawyers can often claim the cost of witnesses and medical examinations you need to prove your case.  This means that if you need an outside medical opinion to prove the severity of your condition or to show the court that your injury was work-related, you can go to the doctor and ultimately get that fee reimbursed at the end of your case.  Similar expenses also pop up regarding depositions of witnesses.

Our lawyers can often cover these expenses at the outset, helping you collect the witness testimony, evidence, and medical records to prove your case, then seeing reimbursement for our expenses at the end of your case, all without you paying for them.  However, not every case works this way every time, and it is important to discuss fees for your specific case with your lawyer.

Call Our Workers’ Comp Specialists in Pennsylvania Today

Call Cardamone Law’s Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation attorneys at (267) 651-7945 for a free case evaluation.