How does the worker’s lawyer get paid?
Attorney fees are governed by the Workers’ Compensation Act and each attorney fee contract must be approved by the State Board of Workers’ Compensation. In Georgia, the employee’s lawyer is paid a contingency fee of 25%. That amount is clearly stated in my attorney’s fee contract. This means that the lawyer’s fee is directly proportional to the amount of money the lawyer “wins” or “settles” for the injured worker. Under Georgia law, a lawyer must cap his fee at 25% of any monies the lawyer is able to obtain for the worker. Therefore, the injured worker retains 75% of the money his lawyer is able to procure for him/her, minus litigation expenses that the lawyer advanced to the injured worker to pursue the claim. For instance, if the injured worker and his lawyer had to go to a hearing to prove a claim and the judge ordered the insurance company to pay a sum of $30,000.00, the injured worker would receive $22,500.00 and his attorney would be paid $7,500.00.
