New Jersey has raised the cap on fees for attorneys handling workers’ compensation cases from 20% to 25% of settlements.
The primary sponsors of S2822/A3986 were Senator Joseph Lagana and Assemblymen Anthony Verrelli and Robert Karabinchak. The measure passed the Assembly 54-20 and the Senate, 27-9.
Proponents of the increase claim it recognizes the additional workload of New Jersey’s contingency attorneys and is needed to assure that injured workers obtain quality representation.
“The hours and labor put in by modern-day workers’ compensation attorneys has become increasingly complex, which requires these attorneys, in addition to their normal legal and courtroom duties, to also acquire special knowledge in any number of new areas, including the medical field, and also be versed in the gathering of demonstrative evidence to prove their clients claim,” said Lagana. “This legislation slightly raising the cap on attorneys’ contingency fees in these cases will allow for more flexibility in the service of their clients and allow for better and more comprehensive representation.”
The New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA) opposed the increase, which it said will raise costs for employers and reduce awards for injured workers. The business group also said there is no evidence an increase is necessary to attract competent counsel to workers’ compensation cases.
NJBIA noted that employers typically end up covering 60% of an attorney’s fees while injured workers pay the other 40% out of their final settlement. NJBIA Vice President of Government Affairs Elissa Frank also told lawmakers that settlement awards, and thus attorney fees, have steadily increased each year based on changes in the state average weekly wage, which has gone up more than 28% over the last decade, thereby “providing a direct increase to fees paid to attorneys” based on those amounts.
“Absent evidence demonstrating that increased fee awards are necessary to attract competent counsel to workers’ compensation cases, NJBIA does not believe there is a need to arbitrarily increase attorneys’ fee awards at the expense of employers and injured workers,” Frank said.
Senate President Nicholas Scutari, serving as acting governor while Gov. Phil Murphy was away at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, signed the fee increase legislation into law on August 22. The new law went into effect upon signing.
Scutari is himself a personal injury attorney whose clients include injured workers.
“Today’s legislation makes a meaningful adjustment to the contingency attorney fee cap, ensuring fair compensation for attorneys and providing workers with the accessible, quality legal representation they deserve,” Scutari said in a statement announcing the signing.
Scutari also signed legislation (S2470/A3930) that amends various provisions concerning service credit, retirement, and salaries for certain county prosecutors and judges.
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