Some Workers' Comp lawyers are ripping off injured workers

Strong words, I know. But it's true.

The Industrial Commission awards attorneys' fees of 25%. In only the rarest of circumstances will they award 33%. (By rare, I mean in about 1 out of 10,000 cases.) So any attorney who says they'll charge 33% if you don't settle your case at mediation is really just trying to intimidate you into settling rather than taking your case to a hearing. Now there are many good reasons to settle at mediation rather than going to a hearing. But doing so out of fear of what YOUR OWN attorney will do to you is certainly not one of them.

Another way lawyers are ripping off their clients is by charging 10 -15% of their weekly checks even if nothing is going on in the case. We believe the only reason an attorney should get 25% of the settlement at the end of the case is because they haven't been paid anything at all for months or years. Thus all the work the attorney has put in on the case is paid out of the settlement at the end of the claim. But if the lawyer is being paid $100 per week just for keeping your file on his bookshelf, and then he is going to try to take 25% of your money at the end of the claim as well, is being unfair in my opinion.

There's little doubt that I've offended a couple of attorneys out there. I'm probably not welcome in their country club circles. But it strikes me as being hypocritical when we, as lawyers, complain about adjusters who victimize our clients but then do the same ourselves.

For the record: Oxner Thomas + Permar only takes 25% fees in workers' comp claims, and we only take them on amounts we win, negotiate, or obtain for you.