The rate impact of recent Florida Supreme Court rulings on the state's workers' compensation system is currently in the hands of regulators, as the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) decides on the National Council on Compensation Insurance's (NCCI) filing seeking a 20 percent rate increase.
The fallout is just beginning from the Castellanos v. Next Door Company, 192 So.3d 431 (FLA., April 28, 2016) and Bradley Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg, 194 So.3d 311 (FLA., June 9, 2016) rulings, and it would end with higher rates. The decisions are also expected to increase the amount of litigated claims in the state, as negotiated fee agreements between claimants and attorneys are now permissable, and a claimant's attorney is no longer prohibited from receiving compensation beyond the state's statutory fee schedule.