Henry J. Anderson v. Director, Office of Workers Compensation Programs Brady-Hamilton Stevedore Company Manhattan Re-Insurance Company

KOZINSKI, Circuit Judge.

Glacial is the speed with which some administrative agencies of the federal government dispose of the claims presented to them. To the extent a successful claimant is entitled to attorney’s fees, the delay erodes the value of the eventual fee award and forces the lawyer to bear the cost of the agency’s procrastination. The principal question presented is the extent to which the attorney’s fees must be adjusted to take account of any extraordinary delay.

I

Anderson injured his back when he slipped and fell on a ship’s deck on September 4, 1982. He claimed permanent total…