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The following are the three primary roles of an attorney in the system. The first is to act essentially as a claims administrator for the injured worker
while the claim is pending. This means handling routine problems prior to the injured worker becoming permanent and stationary, such as obtaining authorization for medical treatment, handling delays in late payments, and
obtaining permanent disability advances.
The second role is to insure that there is an appropriate medical evaluation to determine the extent of disability. This is either by the treating
physician, a physician agreed on by the attorneys or one chosen by the injured workers' attorney. All resolutions are based on the extent of disability, and obtaining a complete final evaluation by a physician who is
sympathetic to the injured worker is pivotal.
The third role is to bring the claim to finalization and fully setting forth to the injured worker what they will receive and the extent of any residual benefits.
HOW MUCH ARE ATTORNEY'S FEES AND HOW ARE THEY PAID?
Attorney's fees are small and on a contingency fee basis. All attorneys' fees must be approved by the workers' compensation judge based on an approved
schedule by the State of California to insure that an attorney does not take advantage of an injured worker. The normal fee is 12% of the final award. On a findings and award, the fee is normally 12% of the amount
of permanent disability and any additional temporary disability awarded that had been denied by the insurance carrier. There is no attorney's fee on the award for future medical treatment. On a compromise and
release, the fee is normally 12% of the amount of the settlement. In complex cases, normally those, which proceed to trial or multiple settlement conferences, the Board can award a fee up to 15%.
The other possible fees are the following. A fee can be taken out of the vocational rehabilitation benefit. This is discretionary and this office does not
normally request a separate fee for vocational rehabilitation where the entitlement to it is not contested and no issues arise in regards to it. The other possible fee is an interim one if litigation is necessary in order
to re-institute benefits, if they are terminated by the carrier.
The above fees are relatively small and it normally pays an injured worker to have an attorney on any injury, which results in substantial disability.
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