High Court: Attorney Fee Cap Applies Per Injury

The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that injured workers are entitled to an award of reasonable attorney fees, up to the statutory cap, for each accidental injury they suffer rather than for each accident or claim. An appellate court found that a former attorney for the state was entitled to only a single award of $22,500 for injuries that flowed from a slip-and-fall, the maximum amount allowed under Section 52-1-54(I) per "single accidental injury." The high court reversed, saying that an allergic reaction and pulmonary embolism resulting from treatment of a postsurgical infection w...