State legislators in Tallahassee are debating measures that would rein in fees for workers' attorneys and make it more difficult for workers to be declared too injured to ever work again. I don't see that they contribute a whole lot to the process. It is not in their interest to resolve disputes. It is in their interest to complicate things and drag it out. Much of it is unnecessary.
Excessive litigation is the single largest cost driver in the system.
At the start of this year's legislative session, Associated Industries of Florida, a Boca Raton-based business lobbying group and workers compensation insurer, proposed bills that would limit the fees attorneys can collect from insurers for representing injured workers. Lobbyists predict that lawmakers will attempt to cut fees further as they debate the bills in the final days of the legislative session, which is scheduled to end Friday. Attorneys argue that workers can't navigate a hostile and complex system without legal help. Thompson says she has received proper medical care and medications because her lawyer, Joe Vassallo of Palm Springs, forced the insurer to do so. When Thompson's ankle didn't heal, she sought a second opinion.