Comments on: Attorney’s Fees in N.Y. Workers Compensation Cases

By: Jim Reed

Jim Reed — Fri, 20 May 2011 19:07:19 +0000

Denis:

You are correct that the typical fee is 10% (at least in our area of Upstate NY). I would suggest you discuss the fee with him ahead of time and see if the two of you can reach an agreement on the fee.

Good luck!

Jim
_________________________________
James B. Reed
NY & PA Injury & Malpractice Lawyer
Ziff Law Firm, LLP
Mailto: jreed@zifflaw.com
Office: (607)733-8866
Toll-Free: 800-ZIFFLAW (943-3529)
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By: denis

denis — Wed, 18 May 2011 16:01:12 +0000

I had a knee injury on 06/2009. I had surgery on 09/11/09. I didn’t get a lawyer until 3/22/11 the date when I got the SLU exam. SLU gives me 20%. The Insurance agrees with it. The lawyer submits yesterday the proposed Settlement order signed by both myself and the insurance company. He has done nothing basically. No hearings… nothing. He tells me that the Board will award him 15%. My understanding was that he will get 10%. I don’t agree with the 15% fee. What should I do?

Thanks,
Denis

By: Jim Reed

Jim Reed — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:27:58 +0000

Brian:

Sorry but Eric moved back to his home state of NC so our firm is no longer handling workers comp cases. However, my recommendation to you is that your question is so specific that it should be addressed to your current attorney– who presumably knows all the details of your case– rather than some outside attorney. In this kind of circumstance, where the approach that you use in pursuing your case can be so important, I am always reluctant to offer advice because it can be dangerous to do so when you don’t have ALL the details. I strongly urge you to meet ASAP with your attorney so you can ask your great questions and get the answers you deserve. I wish you the best of luck.

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:53:05 +0000

Eric I have a few questions, I was offered a settlement amount and agreed to it in September but when they did a MSA it came back high. So my lawyer and Carrier wanted me to go back to the doctor and get a letter stating I didnt want surgery which I did…My question now is, If I didnt want the surgery can the carrier reduce the amount they want to settle? Second after they recieved the letter, how long does it take to get the medicare set aside amount back?

By: EricJohnson

EricJohnson — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:32:00 +0000

Patrick,
You’ve got unusual sitution and it’s difficult to know what the Workers’ Compensation Board will do. Because there my be another hearing, I recommend that you not make any commitments with settlement money until you actually get it. I also recommend that call the Workers’ Compensation Board and ask to discuss this situation with the examiner on your case.
Thanks for reading,
Eric

___________________________________________
Eric L. Johnson, Esq.
Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability Attorney
Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William St., Elmira, NY 14902
Tel: (607) 733-8866
Fax: (607) 732-6062
Toll Free: 1-800-943-3529
Email: ejohnson@zifflaw.com
Web: http://www.zifflaw.com

By: Patrick Cartwright

Patrick Cartwright — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 01:23:11 +0000

I had a section 32 hearing today, at the hearing there was no application for fee from my former attorney on file with the WCB and I had not gotten anything in the mail from the attorney before the hearing. The judge checked the computer system and said that no application for fee was on file. In my paperwork I stated that I did not agree to pay the attorney any further fees other than those already paid to him as he was fired for failing to answer my questions or returning phone calls/emails. The WCB judge stated that there was no application for fee, and therefore, stated no award to the former attorney and approved the Section 32 agreement. When I came home from the hearing, in the mail was something from my former attorney (who had been on notification for fee purposes of today’s hearing and was aware that we were going to a section 32 today) had sent an invoice and application for fee dated yesterday and mailed it out yesterday. What happens now? Will the case have to go back for another hearing or does the attorney loose out because he did not get the paperwork in to the WCB in time?

By: Jim Reed

Jim Reed — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:36:13 +0000

Lynne:

First, I am very sorry that this insurance carrier improperly accessed your private information. That is just plain wrong and you have every reason in the world to be angry.

Second, although I will be the first to admit that I don’t have any particular expertise in lawsuits involving the improper disclosure of private information, generally for a person to have a viable lawsuit, you must be able to establish that you suffered some injury or financial damage. So the big question here is whether you have suffered any injury or financial damage due to this privacy breach? If so, you might have a case. If not, you probably do not have a case that an attorney would be willing to accept because it only makes sense to pursue those cases where you have hope of obtaining a sizable award for your client.

Hope this makes sense.

Thanks, Jim
_________________________________________
James B. Reed, Esq.
Personal Injury & Malpractice Attorney
Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William St., Elmira, NY 14901
Tel. (607) 733-8866 Fax. (607) 732-6062
Toll Free 1-800-943-3529
mailto:jreed@zifflaw.com http://www.zifflaw.com

Read my N.Y. Injury Blog at http://www.NYInjuryLawBlog.com

By: Lynne

Lynne — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:02:24 +0000

I received a letter from NYS Workers Compensation Board in reference to acquisition of my private information. Basically it is stating that my case file was improperly accessed by Health Care Subrogation Group without authorization and accessed my name and social security number.

They said that the info hasn’t been used and the files in possession of hcsg have been destroyed. What I am concerned with is the fact that they still have my social security number and I am now thinking of a law suit against the board. Do I have the right? What can I do about this? I’m very concerned about this HCSG having my personal information.

Thank you!

If you need, here is the full context of the letter:

Re: Acquisition of Your Private Information

Dear Injured Worker:
The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board (Board) has determined that private information contained within your workers’ compensation case file was improperly accessed by Health Care Subrogation Group (HCSG), a company hired by health insurers to recover medical expenses from workers’ compensation carriers. Specifically, HCSG, without authorization, accessed documents in your Board file that contained your name and social security number.

The Board’s investigation has revealed that HCSG did not use the improperly accessed files in any manner whatsoever. As soon as it was discovered that the files had been improperly accessed, HCSG secured and isolated these files. Please be advised that all improperly accessed files in the possession of the HCSG have been destroyed. In addition, the Board has taken corrective measures to insure that a breach of this type does not occur in the future.

This notification is being provided to you in accordance with New York State Technology Law 208, which requires any state entity that owns or licenses computerized data that includes private information to disclose any breach of the system’s security following the discovery or notification of the breach to anyone whose private information was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by a person without valid authorization. Although HCSG was authorized to access the case file management system in connection with other files, they were not authorized to access your file. Such access arguably constitutes a breach of the Board’s security system under the law.

Any questions, comments or request for further information regarding this security breach should be addressed to:

New York State Workers’ Compensation Board
Office of General Counsel
20 Park Street
Albany, NY 12207

and they list email and phone number of General Counsel…

I thank you for any advice/help you can offer.

By: EricJohnson

EricJohnson — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:44:07 +0000

Hi Ronak,
The standard attorney’s fee for classification is 10 weeks of the claimant’s permanent rate. This fee compensates the attorney for work done in the case for permanency as well as, to some degree, work that the attorney will perform in the future. I hope that answers your question.

Thanks for reading,
Eric

By: ronak patel

ronak patel — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 08:35:33 +0000

my question is what does a classification seeor c mean in terms of how much the lawyer will be compensated.