309 A.3d 12
Md. Ct. Spec. App.2024Background
- Two claimants, Mark Zukowski and Joshua Ruggiero, were Anne Arundel County police officers who suffered work-related injuries, received service-connected disability retirement, and also obtained permanent partial disability workers’ compensation awards.
- The Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission awarded both claimants compensation for their disabilities but applied statutory offsets based on their receipt of disability retirement benefits, significantly reducing the amount actually paid.
- The claimants’ counsel requested attorney fees be calculated based on the total compensation award before offsets; the Commission calculated fees from the reduced, post-offset awards.
- The Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County affirmed the Commission’s method of calculating attorney’s fees from the amount due after applying the offsets, not before.
- On appeal to the Appellate Court of Maryland, a procedural issue regarding the sufficiency of a notice of appeal for both claimants was also considered and resolved in claimants’ favor.
- The main substantive issue on appeal concerned the proper basis for calculating an attorney's fee in workers’ compensation cases involving statutory offsets under Maryland law.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether attorney fees should be calculated from the compensation award before or after the statutory offset is applied | Zukowski: Fees should be based on the initial (pre-offset) award to ensure fair compensation for attorneys and access to counsel | County: Fees must be calculated from the actual post-offset amount payable to claimant since attorney’s fee is a lien against the compensation actually due | Attorney fees are properly calculated from the amount due after statutory offsets, not the initial award |
| Whether the offset statute applies only to claimant’s compensation and not attorney fees | Zukowski: Offset only reduces claimant’s benefits, not the attorney’s fee allowance, since different statutory terms are used | County: Offset statute satisfies full employer obligation, including funds available to pay attorney’s lien | Offset applies to total compensation, including any payment available to satisfy attorney’s fees |
| Whether employers must pay an "add-on" attorney’s fee if offset eliminates claimants’ compensation award | Zukowski: Employer should pay attorney’s fee directly to prevent attorney under-compensation if the claimant’s award is reduced/offset | County: Statutory scheme only permits a lien on compensation awarded, not a double recovery or separate payment of fees | Employers do not owe a separate, additional payment for attorney’s fees; any fee is paid out of actual compensation awarded |
| Whether minimal, imprecise notice of appeal for one claimant sufficed to perfect appeal for the other | Zukowski: Notice included both case numbers and was intended to cover both claimants due to consolidated, identical issues | County: Treated both notices as adequate and not prejudicial | Notice of appeal was sufficient to include both claimants under liberal construction |
Key Cases Cited
- Feissner v. Prince George’s County, 282 Md. 413 (Md. 1978) (Offsetting disability retirement benefits can eliminate the compensation award and attorney’s fees lien; only actual compensation due after offsets is available for attorney’s fees)
- Brunson v. Univ. of Md. Med. Sys. Corp., 221 Md. App. 583 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 2015) (No lien for attorney’s fee attaches if no compensation is actually due post-offset)
- Chanticleer Skyline Room, Inc. v. Greer, 271 Md. 693 (Md. 1974) (Attorney’s fee is a lien on a single compensation award, not an additional benefit paid separately)
- Hollingsworth v. Severstal Sparrows Point, LLC, 448 Md. 648 (Md. 2016) (Review of Workers’ Compensation Commission’s legal determinations is de novo)