Diaz v. Palmetto Gen. Hosp.

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This workers’ compensation case involved the statutory attorney’s fees provision declared unconstitutional in the Supreme Court’s opinion in Castellanos v. Next Door Co. Pursuant to the fee schedule in Fla. Stat. 440.34, the judge of compensation claims was constrained to award the claimant’s attorney $13.28 per hour for 120 hours of work, over twenty-five times less than the $350 hourly rate found to be a reasonable fee. The First District Court of Appeal was compelled to affirm the fee. The Supreme Court quashed the First District’s decision and remanded for further proceedings consistent with Castellanos, which held that the conclusive statutory fee schedule is unconstitutional as a denial of due process under both the Florida and United States Constitutions. View "Diaz v. Palmetto Gen. Hosp." on Justia Law