THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: NO DEAL ON WORKERS COMP, BUT BILL MOVES ALONG IN HOUSE

The House’s insurance committee overwhelmingly approved on Tuesday a bill aimed at reversing a Supreme Court decision that removed a cap on lawyers fees in workers compensation cases, though with neither side in the argument happy with the current bill, talks continue.

The debate pits most of the business community – which has said restoring the lawyer fee cap is one of its biggest priorities – against the trial bar, which argues that limiting fees will deprive injured workers access to the courts. The two sides are still talking in an effort to find a compromise on the legislation, said bill sponsor Rep. Anitere Flores, but they haven’t found common ground yet.

Flores, R-Miami, had been set to offer a strike-all amendment to the bill that would have contained compromise language, but the deal fell apart and the committee took up the original bill. The House Insurance, Business and Financial Affairs Committee voted the bill (HB 903) through 19-2 after taking testimony from both sides. The Supreme Court last year struck down the fee cap, saying that in some cases the fees lawyers would get wouldn’t be reasonable. Businesses say after years of declining insurance rates, their worst nightmare in this economy is increased rates.

A representative of the Florida Homebuilders Association, David Hart, told the panel that even the 6 percent increase that’s likely without a fix would mean builders will have to lay off more workers from an industry that’s seen 165,000 jobs disappear in two years. But trial lawyers say rates have dropped dramatically and litigation is dropping as well because lawyers can’t afford to take the case.