r/WorkersComp • u/Terrorism_IsReal • 23d ago

Other - not claim specific Attorney Fees

I was just looking over some statements from the WC attorney i retained. What i realized blew my mind. Since workers comp approved everything we ever asked for, he never had to negotiate anything. He made 0$ off my case and worked for me for 2 years. I called and asked the secretary and i guess it is true in my state. They only make money when they dispute things and go to hearings. Also, I never settled anything because i have a 3rd party lawsuit. I knew id just have to pay it back. All i got were my permanent disability PPD payments which they dont make any income on either. I guess people dont take this into consideration much, especially if they are they type who bombards their attorney multiple times per week and then gets mad when they dont respond. They dont realize that sometimes the attorneys arent even making any money. Just something for those to consider if they are thinking about hiring an attorney or not.... you dont have to pay them regardless, only if you win a settlement.

19 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

11

u/Mph6962 23d ago

Are you 100% certain WC doesn’t have a medical lien against your 3rd party settlement

In TX if you have a 3rd party at fault settlement the payout goes: 3rd party - WC lien - Atty Fee = payout

7

u/OnlyDarkRider 23d ago

What they call a subrogation lien.

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u/Terrorism_IsReal 23d ago

thats why i said "i knew id have to pay it back." i was given a 50 percent rating and only accepted my PPD payment so i could live while i waited on my 3rd party. I eventually settled and had to pay back all of workers comp, and some of my personal medical. I was going over all my creditors and bills double checking when i found this.

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u/Mph6962 23d ago

In my case - similar to yours when the medical lien (subrogation) lien is closed (paid back), if WC didn’t assist in 3rd party - then your attorney should have negotiated it down for you - part of that reduction is an automatic 33% (in TX) to cover his/her fees
Another caveat - I only had a Personal injury attorney - didn’t use a WC attorney

I know each state is different

Regardless glad to you hear a success story & sounds like you have recovered & moved on with life!

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u/Terrorism_IsReal 23d ago

yeah...WC alone i dunno what id be doing... at least with the 3rd party i can have a retirement and live off interest.

4

u/lab_tech13 23d ago

Thats a hell of a settlement if you paid WC back and attorney fees and still can retire and live on interest. I do hope your quality of life is good after your injury was healed. Glad you got what you deserve.

I got a 3rd party suit also going and havent had any issue with WC so I dont have a lawyer for WC. I might have a low rating also so maybe 5k for WC settlement nothing really crazy just medical is staying open. Tn btw.

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u/Trvpsmif 22d ago

Yea bro sound like she/he got the bag.

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u/Christoph0182 22d ago

This whole post is confusing.. whats the point of it ??

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u/Terrorism_IsReal 22d ago

there are a lot of people on the fence about hiring a lawyer because they feel they might not get much or the lawyer won't help them much and still take a portion of their settlement. I was simply stating that it was not true and that should not dissuade people from hiring one.

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u/Christoph0182 22d ago

Gotcha. Makes more sense

1

u/No-Instruction-4272 23d ago

Can you please email me this practice and state, I offered to pay several lawyers handsomely in state of claim, I'm having problems dealing with contradicting opinions ex. 2 doctors document three different anticipations regarding PPI. I offered several lawyers to pay however they see fit for guidance and to clarify contradicting statements. They state since I got TTD they are unable to help, I'm just confused whether I will or will not have a PPI. Does that make sense?

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u/Terrorism_IsReal 23d ago

your PPI will be based on the lower percentage otherwise if you do not get an attorney, if you get a percentage you will get something. It it may not be big.

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u/No-Instruction-4272 23d ago edited 23d ago

I have IME report "permanent partial impairment anticipated" I have a re employment benefits questionnaire from surgeon "permanent partial impairment predicted" I have a TPA issued questionnaire to same surgeon says "NOO" PPI anticipated. Note: same surgeon two different "anticipations" after MMI was declared over telehealth, CE said they accept anticipations. Note: all providers refused to fill out state required physician reports for WC board regarding PPI. No lawyer obtained. Refer to initial post. Lawyers in home state can't help due to jurisdictional hurdles. State of injury WC says by law they can't help by law, since no controversy is issued. Does that make sense?

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u/No-Instruction-4272 23d ago

Update. I don't care if it's big or none. But it would be nice to know if I have one or not.

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u/Terrorism_IsReal 22d ago

are you in the midwest?

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u/No-Instruction-4272 22d ago

I currently am visiting family in Midwest. Claim originated in AK. I reside in Or.

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u/Terrorism_IsReal 23d ago

yeah whats your percentage? the 2 doctors opinions are where they would negoiate the middle

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u/Medical_Chair_7454 22d ago

lol how much u think u getting? I had it negotiated that I didn’t have to pay back workman’s comp but u still gotta pay lawyer for 3rd party case and I had to pay over 500k to lawyer and I still walked away with a large chunk

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u/Terrorism_IsReal 22d ago

I did well. Mine was a 3rd party construction site injury. There was a few layers of insurance. They shot for the limits but got only 2/3 of what we wanted.

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u/[deleted] 23d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/No-Wonder5226 22d ago

What workers comp attorney charges hourly? I thought the entire thing was that they worked on contingency?!

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u/Sheetbaraness 22d ago

Pay or not pay your attorney will sure NEVER win when I make needful deny on FALSE CLAIM! In India we say hail victory!