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House’s workers comp package emerges from committee

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The House workers’ compensation package survived hearings before the Commerce Committee Thursday, including business-friendly amendments that would leave injured workers paying their own attorney fees if they pursue meritless claims. One by one, the panel gave voice approval to three amendments offered by House Insurance & Banking chairman Danny Burgess, who has managed the underlying bill’s progress. The final vote on the bill was 20-14. The only Democrat voting “Yes” was Richard Stark. “I believe this bill does strike a…

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New House workers’ comp amendments go tougher on attorney fees

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The House Commerce Committee will take up a workers’ compromise amendment package Thursday that takes a more aggressive approach to attorney fees than did previous versions of the legislation. The amendments to HB 7085 retain language allowing deviations from the statutory attorney fee schedule that link trial lawyer’s compensation to benefits secured through claims litigation. But it shrinks the maximum hourly fee from $250 in the existing language to $150. Such awards would be tied to customary fees charged by defense…

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House committee rejects attorney-fee amendment, OKs workers’ comp bill

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The House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee voted Tuesday narrowly against requiring workers to pay their own attorney fees in disputes over benefits. The tally went 8-7 against an amendment by Republican Jay Fant to scrap most of a proposed committee bill addressing escalating workers’ compensation premiums. The panel proceeded to approve the underlying bill, 14-1. Fant was the “no” vote. Even members who voted for the amendment said they would support the bill in hopes of making improvements later. Fant’s language would…

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Tobacco bond repealer is again postponed, this time in House

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A House bill (HB 6011) that would repeal the cap on the amount of money tobacco companies have to put up as appellate bonds was “temporarily postponed” Thursday. With its Senate companion (SB 100) also indefinitely put off, the proposal’s fate is uncertain for the 2017 Legislative Session. The House version was slated to be heard in the Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee, records show. Tobacco companies are required to put up bonds before they appeal unfavorable damages awarded to former smokers, but the…

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House panel homes in on attorney fees for workers’ compensation fix

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The chairman of a key House subcommittee said Wednesday that legislation to address rising worker’s compensation premiums will include curbs on attorney fees, “the biggest driver of the premiums.” Danny Burgess, chairman of the Insurance & Banking Subcommittee, spoke following a hearing into a raft of possible solutions to escalating worker’s compensation premiums. Also on Wednesday, the 1st District Court of Appeal scheduled oral argument for Feb. 22 in a challenge to a 14.5 percent rate increase that began to take effect…

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FMA agenda: Florida’s doctors want insurance companies to get out of their way

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The Florida Medical Association released its legislative priorities for 2017; removing interference by insurance companies in doctor’s decisions about patient care is prominent on the list. “The FMA believes in promoting the highest standards of medical care, maintaining choice for patients in a free-market health care system, and preserving the sacred relationship between patients and their physicians,” the document says. “The best way to achieve these objectives is by advocating for public policy that establishes fair and transparent insurance markets, reduces…

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House bill would affect public records lawsuits

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A House bill would require judges to make specific findings before they can award attorney fees in public records lawsuits. State Rep. Danny Burgess, a Zephyrhills Republican and lawyer, filed the measure (HB 163) on Wednesday. It would require a judge to determine that a public agency “unlawfully refused to permit a public record to be inspected or copied” and that the complainant “provided written notice identifying the public record request to the agency’s custodian … at least five business days before…

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