$1.53 an hour for lawyer fees? Not here, court says

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s Supreme Court says a law limiting lawyer fees in workers’ compensation cases is unconstitutional after considering a case in which an attorney was paid $1.53 per hour for his work.

In a recent ruling, the court said it’s absurd that a highly skilled lawyer would be paid $164.54 for more than 100 hours of work.

But that was the case after a worker successfully sued a Miami door manufacturer after an on-the-job accident.

That’s because in 2003, then-Gov. Jeb Bush signed attorney fee limits into law as his solution to skyrocketing workers’ compensation insurance rates. Those limits now can’t be enforced because of the court’s 5-2 ruling.