The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1939-05-11
Senators Demand
Continued From Poqe Ons)

Of case before the Industrial Conn
mission
The law also provides that contracts
between attorneys and claimants shall
be filed with the Commission, which
is without power to recover excessive
fees once they have been paid by the
claimant to the attorney, the claimant
haTing recourse only to civil action
for recovery.
That all Of these provisions have|
been ignored by some attorneys, max
ing 1t necessary to limit accrued com-
pensation through legislative actionI
is apparent in the following eight
cases, taken from the Industrial Conf
| mission files, which are cited as ex-|
amples.
/. On contingent fee contract, al
Cleveland attorney took $2,941.00 of al
lump sum award of $3,782.14 made to
widow in a death claim. This fee
was in addition to the constitutional
$500 fee allowed the attorney by the
/ Commission, giving the attorney a to-
tai Of s3,441.0O.
2. Out Of an award of Approximately
$3.50, an attorney collected not only
the stipulated fee of $500 but an ad-
dltlonaI fee Of approximately $500
from the claimants guardian, although
authority for the payment of such a.
fee was not requested Of or granted
by the Probate Court.
3. Out Of permanent total disabil-
lty award of approximately $4,000, of
an attorney was paid the constitutions
al fee of $500, and on contract call
ing for one-third of all the compensa-
ton the claimant received up until the
time of his death, the attorney re-
celved total of approximately $4,000.
4. From accrued compensation
amounting to $4,000, the attorneys re-
celved $4,000. One of the attorneys
in this case was suspended for one
year from practice before the Com
mission, the only penalty they can i'm
pose. A compromise recovery of ap-
proXimately $1,000 was later effected
in civil court.
D. Under fifty per cent contingent
fee contract, an attorney risrepre-
sented the amount of the lump sum
| award check to the claimant by tell
ing him that it was only for $1,000
instead Of the actual amount of
s2,022.26. The attorney then had the
claimant endorse the check without
seeing the face Of it, gave the claim
ant $500 and pocketed the balance Of
$1,522.26.
/ 6. From a total award of $1,000, of
which 2,826 was accrued compensation,
an attorney took 81 Alb on a fifty per
cent contingent fee contract
| 7. In a case involving accrued COM
pensation amounting to $2,185, the at
torneys had fifty per cent contingent
fee contract with widow She pro-
| tested the amount Of the fee, and the
/ Commission indicated that they would
/ hear the case and fix reasonable fee.
The attorneys brought suit against the
widow for S2,250, subpoenaed her to
their office, where after four hours,
/ she paid them $1,000 and signed a
/ statement written by the attorneys to
! the effect that she was satisfied with
the fee settlement made with her at
/ torneys.
8. From an accrued compensation
award Of 81 500, an attorney secured
/ 2,40O on contract calling for one
! third of the payments with an ad-
ditional $500 charge. A bar associ-
alton committee investigated the COM
/ plant, and reported to a Commission
/ representative that they did not feel
the one-third fee to be excessive, but
did think the extra $500 was not JUS
! titled, and that the attorney had
| agreed to return the $500 as a COM
! promise.
| The Commission has found through
complaints filed with it by claimants
that there are great many attorneys
and laymen who constantly charge
/ one-third or one-half of the amount
/ recovered in addition to what they
may be paid by the Commission in the
way Of statutory attorney fees.
/ It is to correct the open disregard
Of regulations and requirements Of the
workmen's compensation law by at
torneys whose unethical tactics have
been called to the attention of the
Commission that the two year limita-
ton on accrued compensation awards
has been agreed upon by employer
and labor representatives.
Donovan worked in a factory where