If you are receiving Temporary Total Disability benefits after a work injury in Missouri, those weekly checks are an important source of financial support while you recover. Your Missouri Workers’ Comp Lawyer should not be taking a percentage of those benefits in most cases. Here’s what what injured workers should do if that appears to be happening.
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- Temporary Total Disability benefits in Missouri are designed to replace part of your lost wages while you are completely unable to work because of a job-related injury.
- These benefits are not a settlement or final award. They are ongoing wage replacement payments required by law in qualifying cases.
- Missouri workers’ compensation attorney fees are usually taken from money the lawyer recovers for you, such as a settlement or permanent partial disability award at the end of the case.
- In most situations, your attorney should not take a percentage of routine Temporary Total Disability checks that were already being paid without a dispute.
- A fee on Temporary Total Disability may only be appropriate in limited situations, such as when the benefits were denied and the attorney successfully fought to recover back-due payments.
- Any attorney fee in a Missouri workers’ compensation case must be approved by an Administrative Law Judge.
- If your attorney is deducting money from your weekly checks without a clear explanation, you should request an explanation in writing and consider getting a second opinion.
Let’s take a closer look at each these main points in more detail.
Your Missouri Workers’ Comp Lawyer Should NOT Take a Fee From Your Temporary Total Disability Checks
If you’ve been injured on the job in Missouri and you’re unable to work, temporary total disability (TTD) benefits are often the financial lifeline keeping your household afloat. These weekly payments are meant to replace a portion of your lost wages while you recover — and every dollar matters.
So it may come as a shock when an attorney tries to take a cut of those checks. Here’s the truth: in most circumstances, a Missouri workers’ compensation lawyer should not be taking a percentage of your TTD benefits — and if yours is, you need to understand your rights.
What Are Temporary Total Disability Benefits in Missouri?
Under Missouri workers’ compensation law, if you are injured at work and a doctor takes you off duty completely, you are entitled to TTD benefits equal to two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to state maximums.
These payments continue for as long as you remain totally disabled and unable to return to work in any capacity.
Temporary Total Disability is not a settlement. It is not a lump sum award. It is an ongoing wage replacement benefit. And that distinction matters enormously when it comes to attorney fees.
How Missouri Workers’ Comp Attorney Fees Are Supposed to Work
Missouri law governs how attorneys are compensated in workers’ compensation cases. Attorney fees in Missouri work comp cases are typically contingency-based, meaning your lawyer gets paid a percentage of what they recover for you — primarily from your permanent partial disability (PPD) award or settlement at the end of your case.
Temporary Total Disability benefits, however, are benefits your employer or their insurance carrier is already required by law to pay you.
Your attorney generally did not negotiate for them, fight for them in a contested hearing, or recover them on your behalf in the traditional legal sense.
When Temporary Total Disability is flowing as it should, there is typically no legal basis for an attorney to take a fee from those payments.
When Could an Attorney Claim a Fee on Temporary Total Disability?
There are limited circumstances where an attorney may be entitled to a fee on Temporary Total Disability.
Specifically, if your Temporary Total Disability was denied and your lawyer successfully fought to have those benefits reinstated through a hearing or legal action.
In that scenario, recovering back-due TTD benefits may support a fee claim. A Missouri Work Comp Administrative Law Judge would have to APPROVE the fee.
But if your Temporary Total Disability benefits were never disputed and have been paid routinely throughout your case, your attorney collecting a percentage of each check is a serious red flag.
What to Do If This Is Happening to You
If your Missouri workers’ comp attorney is deducting fees from your weekly Temporary Total Disability checks without explanation, you have every right to ask questions — in writing. Request a clear accounting of any fees withheld and the legal basis for them.
You can also contact the Missouri Bar’s attorney-client fee dispute resolution program or consult a second attorney to review your representation agreement.
The Bottom Line
Your Temporary Total Disability benefits exist to help you survive financially while you heal. Protect them.
Work with a Missouri workers’ compensation attorney who is transparent about fees from day one. Because an injured worker counting on those weekly checks deserves nothing less.
Injured at Work in Missouri? Call The Krebs Law Firm Today
If you’ve been hurt on the job in Springfield, MO, or anywhere in southern Missouri, don’t go it alone.
The Missouri workers’ compensation system is full of legal traps.
And insurance companies have experienced lawyers working against you.
Let us help you protect your rights and get every dollar you deserve.
The Krebs Law Firm—Experience. Dedication. Results.
Don’t leave your future in the hands of the insurance company. Get a legal team that fights for you.
Don’t try taking on the insurance companies alone. Call The Krebs Law Firm for a free consultation.
You need an experienced workers compensation attorney at your side to make sure you get what you deserve for your workplace injury.
Call The Krebs Law Firm Springfield office at (417) 883-5886, our Columbia office at (573) 886-8976 or toll free at (800) 345-0535.
There is no upfront cost to hiring a Missouri Workers Compensation attorney for your claim.
If have a potential Missouri work comp case and want to make sure you maximize your Missouri Workers Compensation benefits for your workplace injury, then you should speak to an experienced Missouri Workers Compensation attorney sooner rather than later.
Utilize our years of expertise to get the compensation you deserve and let us help each step of the way.