Jacobson v. Southeast Personnel Leasing, Inc.

I agree that sections 440.105(3)(c) and 440.34are unconstitutional as applied here because the statutes had the effect of precluding the claimant from contracting with an attorney to defend the action brought by the E/C to tax its prevailing-party costs against the claimant pursuant to section 440.34(3). The statutes had this effect because 1) even if the attorney was successful in defense of the action to tax costs, the attorney would not have secured any workers’ compensation benefits for the claimant; 2) without any “benefits secured,” there is no basis for the JCC to approve a fee for the…