This is a fair question. Especially because a claim denial probably means your budget is pretty tight — with potential lost wages and medical bills to deal with. However, the attorney’s fee is an important part of how most firms work.
When explaining why you need to pay an attorney’s fee, many attorneys give the “but for” answer: Basically you wouldn’t get anything but for the work that your attorney does for you. If you chose not to hire a lawyer and didn’t seek any kind of appeal, then you would definitely not be awarded any money.
However, if you hire an attorney, they may be able to convince the Industrial Commission to have our fees shifted to their insurance company for a frivolous denial. At Oxner + Permar, we do our best to make sure that you are not victimized by these frivolous denials. The law penalizes parties for “stubborn, unfounded litigiousness,” so we can be pretty aggressive about making sure that these penalties are enacted against wrongful denials.
Unfortunately, due to recent laws enacted by former Governor McCrory, there’s been a decline in these kinds of awards. This could be a temporary phase though. Regardless, we’re still filing claims when we think the defendants are being ridiculous. We know your rights and we’re passionate about defending them.
