Francis Law Firm Opposes Florida House Bill 903

Tony Francis of the Francis Law Firm is front and center against the
controversial workers’ compensation bill, and he urges Governor Crist
to veto it. There are some excellent reasons why.

On Friday, May 1, 2009, the Florida Legislature passed HB 903
dealing with workers' compensation. Tony Francis of the Francis Law
Firm, and the Florida Justice Association (FJA), strongly opposed this
unfair legislation. A fight was tirelessly waged throughout the
legislative session to get the controversial bill either amended or
killed. Last minute compromises failed and now the bill is headed to
the governor for his signature.

The bill essentially prevents Florida's injured workers from finding
an attorney willing to represent them in court. House Bill 903 creates
an uneven playing field as injured workers are placed at a disadvantage
because they are unable to pay their attorneys "reasonable
compensation." The bill gives insurance companies a decidedly unfair
advantage by encouraging bad claims handling practices and eliminating
penalties for wrongfully denying claims.

Asserts Tony Francis of the Orlando-based Francis Law Firm,
"Deletion of the word 'reasonable' will mean more litigation contesting
the ability to access the courts to obtain wrongfully denied benefits
by injured workers and first responders." Furthermore, without the
obligation to pay a 'reasonable fee,' the insurance carrier "can keep
on denying benefits and coerce injured workers into taking quick and
unreasonable settlements," Francis argues. It's also a question of
access. "Why is it considered okay to block the access to the courts
for injured workers and first responders by capping attorney's fees
when workers' compensation benefits are wrongfully denied?"

Francis places HB903 in the stark relief of a citizen perspective.
"What's the upshot of all this? It's easy to see what will happen.
Unable to recover the benefits they need for survival; injured workers
will be left to the lottery-like applications required by social
programs such as Medicaid to pay their bills. It's pretty obvious that
the real bills will end up being paid by taxpayers, as is too often the
case."

Wealthy insurance companies are the true beneficiaries of this
ill-advised legislation. "The injured workers won't be getting their
day in court, no matter how egregious the workplace might have been to
cause accidents that in at least some cases, could have been
prevented," Francis concludes.

To learn more about Orlando injury lawyer, Orlando personal injury lawyer, Orlando accident lawyer, Orlando injury attorney, visit Francislawgroup.com.