Off The Record – Workers’ Comp: How Do Attorneys Get Paid?

Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Bill Turley, I’m one of the partners at Turley Redmond & Rosasco. One of the questions I often get asked by clients is how do we get paid? How do the attorneys get paid? And the short answer to that question is we only get paid if we’re able to obtain a monetary award for the client. And in the workers’ compensation field, that fee is subject to approval by the Workers’ Compensation Board and there’s pretty significant oversight by that agency as far as our attorney’s fee goes. And it’s what we call a contingency fee, in other words, our fee is contingent upon us getting a money award for the client, and personal injury lawyers operate on this basis as well. And it’s what I like to call, I will put under the general umbrella of access to justice.

What do I mean by that? Well, many people who are involved in workers’ compensation situations are of modest means, and they normally couldn’t afford to hire an attorney and pay the attorney a large retainer, or pay them on an hourly basis. But this way, if the fee is contingent upon the attorney getting them an award, they can afford it. Therefore, they get an access to an attorney and they get access to justice. If you have any other questions about attorney’s fees and workers’ compensation or anything about workers’ compensation, please give me a call at 1-877-NYDB-LAW.

I’m Bill Turley, and thanks for listening.