Who Decides How Much the Injured Worker Has To Pay Back to the Workers Compensation Insurance Company When they Cannot Agree ?
payment “of each further entitlement as it is submitted” based upon a percentage “equal to the ratio the total attorney’s fees and costs bear to the total third-party recovery” until the time when “the accrued post-recovery entitlement equals that sum which is the difference between the gross recovery and the employer’s compensation lien.” When the circuit court has fixed that percentage and has determined the amount of the lien for payment of past benefits, the Commission THEN enters the picture and orders the appropriate payments to be made, taking into account the apportionment percentage fixed by the court.
Herndon Virginia workers comp lawyer Landau notes that he has seen bodily injury cases where the comp insurer’s lien is reduced by only 20-25%. This is true because some cases are set by statute for numbers, such as: infant settlements, Federal Tort Claims, etc. Landau is also aware of bodily injury cases where the workers compensation insurance company took more than 75% of the settlement because they had to get their lawyers involved in the bodily injury case, or paid litigation expenses, or for other reasons having to do with the size of the settlements and/or additional benefits. The bottom line, according to Herndon workers comp lawyer Doug Landau is, “there is no magic formula in Virginia workers comp or personal injury cases. Anyone who tells you that there is a specific number for all bodily injury settlements, workplace injury “IOU” paybacks, and the costs of litigation is either inexperienced in handling permanent injury cases or does not regularly represent disabled workers in court.” If you or someone you know or care for has been injured and become disabled as the result of an on the job accident, and there are questions about the interplay between Workers Compensation laws and Virginia accident claims, e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555) at once.