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Hiring a lawyer for a Texas workers’ comp injury is one of the most important decisions you can make. Dealing with the insurance company to get your wage benefits and medical bills is pretty confusing and frustrating.

But you don’t have to go it alone. If you were seriously injured at work, you need to hire an experienced Texas workers’ compensation lawyer.

It won’t cost you any money upfront, and you won’t have to pay anything unless you win. The workers’ comp insurance company has unlimited resources to fight paying you the benefits.

You need a skilled and knowledgeable lawyer on your side fighting for your rights.

The Texas workers’ comp lawyers at The Zimmerman Law Firm, P.C., have over 85 combined years of experience in successfully representing injured workers.

We have the resources and skills to take on the big workers’ comp insurance companies and win you compensation. We won’t charge you upfront fees because the Texas workers’ compensation attorney fees come out of the benefits we win for you.

Will It Cost Me Anything Up Front to Meet with a Lawyer?

Most lawyers who handle Texas workers’ comp claims do not charge for an initial consultation. Often, the lawyer you call can meet with you over the phone, asking you questions about your case to determine if they can help you.

If so, they’ll schedule an appointment for you to come to the office to go over all of the details and paperwork and sign an agreement for workers’ compensation fees.

These meetings usually don’t cost you any money up front. Before you sign the fee agreement, decide whether you are comfortable with the lawyer and their experience level and whether they can help you.

Hiring the best lawyer possible will go a long way toward winning your case.

How Do Workers’ Comp Attorneys Get Paid in Texas?

A Texas workers’ comp attorney receives their fees only if they win your case. If your case is lost, your attorney can’t then charge you for attorney fees.

The Texas workers’ compensation attorney fees come out of the benefits owed to you. Unlike lawyers in most other states, Texas workers’ comp lawyers charge an hourly fee and not a percentage of the benefits you win.

But the hourly rate that a lawyer can charge a workers’ comp client is limited under Texas law. Also, your attorney has to send his or her fee request to the workers’ compensation judge for approval.

This is an extra level of protection to make sure lawyers aren’t charging clients too much and they are receiving fair and reasonable Texas workers’ comp attorney fees.

What Are the Approved Hourly Rates for a Texas Workers’ Comp Lawyer?

Under the current Texas guidelines for workers’ comp attorney fees, the maximum hourly rate is $200 for attorneys and $65 for legal assistants.

The guidelines also limit the amount of time an attorney can charge for certain tasks, like attending a hearing, drafting correspondence, or creating settlement agreements.

The bottom line is that however much the attorney charges, the attorney fees cannot be more than 25% of the total amount of the unpaid wages.

The judge will approve the lawyer’s fees after a careful review of what the attorney has charged. In approving the fees, the judge considers the following factors:

  • Whether the case and legal issues were difficult;
  • Whether the time listed for the various tasks seem reasonable;
  • What benefits are disputed and how much was the final recovery;
  • The experience level of the lawyer; and
  • Whether the fees are normal for the geographic area.

Before your attorney submits the fee petition to the judge, review it with them in detail and ask about any questionable charges.

Sometimes the Insurance Company Has to Pay Your Attorney

In some limited cases, the workers’ comp insurance company will pay your attorney their fees, above and beyond the amount that they have to pay you.

In cases where the insurance company and employer contest the claim for certain benefits but lose, the judge can order that the insurance company pay your lawyer.

In these rare cases, the fees will not be taken out of the total benefits owed to you.

Contact the Texas Workers’ Comp Lawyers at The Zimmerman Law Firm, P.C., to Help You Get the Wage and Medical Benefits You Deserve

If you have been injured at work in Texas, you are entitled to certain benefits. In some cases, the insurance company fights you and refuses to pay.

If this is the case, you need to contact The Zimmerman Law Firm, P.C. We will take on the workers’ comp insurance company to help you get your owed benefits.

To learn more, and to schedule a free consultation, give us a call at 254-272-3220 today. You can also reach us through our online form.

Author Photo

Michael Zimmerman

Michael was born in Houston, Texas. His education at Baylor and Texas State Universities earned him a Bachelor of Science degree in 1987. His major was in Biology with a Minor in Chemistry. He finished his legal education at Texas Southern University in 1990, earning a Juris Doctorate from Thurgood Marshall School of Law. He was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 1990.

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