Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law a bill that regulates how much attorneys representing employees in workers compensation cases can be paid.
The law limits lawyers’ fees to a percentage of a settlement or judgment and does not let them charge large hourly rates. The state’s business groups backed the law, which they said would prevent workers comp rates from rising.
Before a similar law took effect in 2003, Florida had some of the highest workers comp rates in the nation. They dropped steadily afterward, but last fall the Florida Supreme Court struck down the attorneys’ fees provision.
