This Thursday, December 18, the New Jersey Assembly is voting on A3403, which would award more money to workers compensation attorneys at the expense of their injured clients.

 

Please contact your Assembly members TODAY and tell them that you oppose legislation that takes money from injured workers to pay attorneys for work they didn’t do.

 

New Jersey’s existing workers comp law encourages employers to make prompt, good faith settlement offers to injured employees. If an employee decides to hire an attorney to sue the employer for additional compensation, the law states that the employee’s attorney is to be awarded fees based only on the portion of the award in excess of what was originally offered by the employer.

 

A3403 would instead base attorney fees on the full amount of the employee’s workers comp award, regardless of how much, if any, additional money the attorney was able to get their client. Attorney fees are deducted from the injured worker’s award, so the extra money going to attorneys under this bill is coming directly out of their injured client’s pockets! This is unconscionable.

 

Contact your Assembly members TODAY and tell them that you oppose A3403, because taking money away from injured workers to pay attorneys for work they didn’t do is wrong.

 

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Click here to read the testimony NJCJI submitted in opposition to this bill.

If you have any questions about this legislation, please contact Alida Kass, NJCJI’s Chief Counsel.