percentAgefeeSinworkerS ’ coMpenSAtion
Workers ’ Compensation Section Chairs : AnthonyV . Cortese – AnthonyV . Cortese , AttorneyatLaw , IreneRodriguez – IreneM . Rodriguez , PA & Ya ’ SheakaWilliams – Quintairos , Prieto , Wood & Boyer
theJudgewasnot permittedunder thelawtoignore thestatutory feefactors .
In Rudolph v Darien Smith , Home Depot and Liberty Mutual , No . 1D2022-1627 ( January 24 , 2024 ), the First District Court of Appeal issued a ruling supporting percentage fee awards for claimants ’ attorneys . The claimant in Rudolph suffered catastrophic injuries in 1993 and was a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic with complex housing , medical , transportation and attendant care needs . Indemnity was settled in 1996 , but medical issues were complex and were litigated by six different attorneys over the following decades , until the settlement of medical issues in 2018 . The last attorney on the case was Attorney Rudolph , who represented the claimant through a 10-day mediation that led to the settlement . The settlement was $ 13,500,000 ; the claimant and Attorney Rudolph jointly petitioned for attorney ’ s fees and costs in the amount of $ 1,300,000 , which was about 10 % of the benefit obtained , based on the statutory factors set forth in F . S . 440.34 ( a ) - ( h ). After payment of the other attorneys
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