Injured workers racked up nearly $186 million in approved legal fees in 2016-2017, a 36 percent increase from the previous year, a state report on the workers' compensation insurance system shows. In all, attorneys' fees in the workers compensation system totaled nearly $440 million during the 2016-2017 fiscal year. The majority -- nearly $254 million -- were forked out by employers defending workers' compensation claims. Click to read more:

A Florida construction company owner has been arrested after allegedly providing fictitious information when applying for workers’ compensation insurance coverage to obtain a lower premium, according to a statement from Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. Maria Cristina Romero Zelaya, owner of Miochosis Construction, Inc. is accused of illegally avoiding paying more than $700,000 in premium payments and leaving her employees uninsured and vulnerable to workplace injuries,

An Orange County man is suing a Maitland company, alleging violation of workers compensation acts. Oscar Moquette filed a complaint Nov. 28 in Orange County Circuit Court against Skansa-Granite-Lane, alleging violation of the Florida Workers' Compensation Law. Click here to read more:

The OJCC is required by law to approve all attorney’s fees paid by or on behalf of an injured worker. Section 440.34. Fla. Stat. There is no such specific requirement for the approval of fees paid by employer/carriers for their defense counsel representation. Despite the absence of such specific requirement for defense fee approval, the broad language of section 440.105(3)(b), Fla. Stat. arguably could require OJCC approval of defense attorneys’ fees. However, this statutory

This week, it was announced that a federal jury in Orlando, Florida had found a woman guilty of one count of theft of government funds and two counts of concealing a material fact in connection with the receipt of workers compensation benefits. 54-year-old Susan J. Gissy of Crystal River now faces a maximum penalty of ten years on the theft charge and up to five years on each of the concealment charges. The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on March 5, 2017. Click here t

After Abednego de la Cruz sliced his finger to the bone cutting concrete blocks while building a fire station in Tallahassee, his boss fired him and refused continued medical care for his injury. De la Cruz, a 37-year-old father whose dominant hand remains damaged, thought he could rely on the workers’ compensation system, which requires employers to cover medical care and lost wages for injured employees. Instead, his employer called the police and had him arrested. The undo

The Naples Daily News brought the heat on this one. Journalist Maria Perez debuted a yearlong harrowing investigation this week that uncovered the commonplace practice of Florida staff leasing companies for high-risk jobs hiring undocumented immigrant workers and axing them without compensation when they became injured. The piece tells the story of Abednego de la Cruz, who sliced his finger to the bone cutting concrete blocks in Tallahassee. He was fired and was refused medic

Florida construction companies allegedly have a pattern of hiring undocumented immigrants, then calling authorities on injured employees rather than paying for workers’ compensation. This all got covered in a yearlong investigation by The Naples Daily News. Click to Read More:

When the Castellanos v. Next Door Company case from the Florida Supreme Court came down in April 2016, striking down caps on fees for attorneys who represent injured workers, uncertainty abounded. The ruling was hotly anticipated, with attorneys on both sides of the spectrum, businesses and insurance companies all speculating not only as to what the ruling would ultimately be, but also as to what practical effect it would have on businesses, the insurance industry and workers