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Tag Archives: Attorney Fees

Workers Comp Bill Would Line the Pockets of Attorneys at the Expense of Injured Workers

April 13, 2018News, Top StoriesAttorney Fees, Employment Law, New Jersey LegislatureNJCJI

Should attorneys get paid for work they didn’t do? If so, should that money come out of the pockets of injured workers? Those are the questions policy makers who voted yes on S2145 need to be able to answer.

 

On April 12, the New Jersey Senate voted to modify our state’s workers compensation system to increase the amount of money attorneys assisting injured workers can get. Unfortunately, this additional compensation will come directly out of the pockets of the victims themselves.

 

Under existing law, employers and their workers compensation insurance carriers are encouraged to act promptly to settle workers comp complaints. When payments are promptly made, the injured workers get the entire payment, and thanks to the system we have in New Jersey, often do not need to hire an attorney to assist them with their claims.

 

If a worker does decide to hire an attorney and seek additional compensation, state law limits the fee the attorney can charge his or her client to funds he or she is able to secure above and beyond what was originally offered.

 

While ensuring attorneys are fairly compensated is an admirable goal, taking money out of the pockets of injured workers is not a good way to accomplish it.

 

The existing formula fosters good public policy in several ways. It encourages prompt, good faith payments to injured employees. It also ensures that the incentives for litigating claims are aligned with the incremental benefit of the potential litigation. And by discouraging unnecessary litigation, it ensures maximum compensation for employees at a minimum cost to employers.

 

The proposed legislation, by contrast, would amend existing law to undo all of those beneficial incentives.

 

By eliminating the window of opportunity for carriers to make payments that go entirely to the injured party, this bill would weaken the carrier’s incentive to make maximum payments as quickly as possible. And it would encourage attorney involvement at an earlier stage of the process without regard to their incremental value. Tying the fees to the signing of an attorney client agreement simply incentivizes such agreements. And basing fees on total compensation means attorneys would be taking a share of money that carriers would have made absent any attorney involvement – diverting that money to attorneys instead of compensating victims.

 

We understand the desire to ensure that attorneys receive adequate compensation for their efforts – but should not come at the expense of injured workers. This legislation would undo each element of the existing, beneficial, incentive structure, to the detriment of injured employees.

 

Assembly Voting On Legislation That Enriches Attorneys at the Expense of Injured Workers

December 16, 2015News, Top StoriesAttorney Fees, Business Climate, New Jersey LegislatureNJCJI

This Thursday, December 17, the New Jersey Assembly is voting on A3403, which would award more money to workers compensation attorneys at the expense of their injured clients. Continue reading →

What do we Mean When we say Government Enforcement has been Outsourced?

September 2, 2015News, Top StoriesAttorney Fees, Business Climate, CFA, Class Actions, New Jersey Courts, New Jersey Legislature, Regulation via LitigationNJCJI

 

When most people think consumer fraud protection they imagine government agents going out into the field to inspect businesses, write tickets, and shut down bad-actors. As reports from the state Attorney General’s office can attest, these things do happen, but they are just one part of the state’s enforcement mechanism. A wide variety of regulations are also enforced via lawsuits brought by private attorneys effectively deputized as government enforcement agents. Continue reading →

Top News Clips for the Week of March 28-April 2

August 28, 2015News, Recent NewsAttorney Fees, Business Climate, CFA, Class Actions, Legal Reform, Medical Liability, New Jersey Courts, Outrageous Lawsuits, SCOTUS, Settlement Trust TransparencyNJCJI

A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of March 28-April 2. Continue reading →

Is Litigation the Best Way to Regulate Business?

August 21, 2015News, Top StoriesAttorney Fees, Business Climate, Civil Justice, Fee Shifting, Legal Reform, NJCJINJCJI

A number of New Jersey’s state regulatory provisions specify statutory penalties for violations. Having a defined penalty enhances predictability and reduces inconsistent application of the law. When the statutes provide for enforcement actions by individual consumers, the statutory penalty model has the potential to provide the individual with a straightforward means of redress, often without need to even hire an attorney. Attorneys are getting involved though, and it is leading us toward a system where businesses are being regulated one jury at a time.   Continue reading →

Top News Clips for the Week of Jan. 17-23

January 23, 2015News, Recent NewsAttorney Fees, CFA, New Jersey Courts, New Jersey Supreme Court, Outrageous Lawsuits, Patent LawNJCJI

A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of Jan. 17-23. Continue reading →

New Jersey’s Leviathan

January 8, 2015News, Recent News, Top StoriesAttorney Fees, CFA, Fee Shifting, New Jersey LegislatureNJCJI

New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act has been expanded over the years by the courts and the legislature to the point where it is no longer focused on protecting consumers from fraud. It is instead a catch-all claim that is pulled into all sorts of disputes – consumers and fraud optional. A few recent cases really illustrate this point. Continue reading →

Assembly Voting On Legislation That Enriches Attorneys at the Expense of Injured Workers

December 17, 2014News, Press Releases, Top StoriesAttorney Fees, Employment Law, New Jersey LegislatureNJCJI

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.

 

“The Assembly needs to know that this bill benefits only attorneys and does nothing to help injured workers. This is a blatant cash grab by the trial bar and its only purpose to increase attorney compensation – money which comes directly from the injured worker’s payout,” said NJCJI President Marcus Rayner.

Continue reading →

Assembly Voting On Legislation That Enriches Attorneys at the Expense of Injured Workers

December 15, 2014News, Top StoriesAttorney Fees, Employment Law, New Jersey LegislatureNJCJI

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. Continue reading →

Assembly Labor Committee Advances Legislation That Enriches Attorneys at the Expense of Injured Workers

December 12, 2014News, Top StoriesAttorney Fees, Employment Law, New Jersey LegislatureNJCJI

NJCJI believes that workers who are injured on the job deserve to be fully compensated for their injuries. Furthermore, workers should not have to hire an attorney to get the benefits they are due. These basic principles are what underlie our opposition to S374/A3403, which would award more money to workers compensation attorneys at the expense of their injured clients. Continue reading →

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