Split Court Declares Award of Fees Per Se Reasonable

A divided Commonwealth Court ruled that an injured worker was entitled to a fee award for his attorney representing 20% of his medical compensation, without regard to the amount and degree of difficulty of the work performed. Case: Neves v. WCAB (American Airlines), No. 1431 C.D. 2018, 05/14/2020, published. Facts and procedural history: Robert Neves worked for American Airlines Inc. as a baggage handler. After a heart attack, he hired an attorney to bring a workers’ compensation claim against American. Neves signed a fee agreement providing that his attorney would be entitled to...