§ 1. Attorney's Fees

1. An attorney may charge an employee a fee for services, capped at 30% of benefits accrued.

2. If an attorney wishes to collect more than 30% of benefits accrued, he or she may do so only with pre-approval of a hearing officer.

3. "Benefits accrued" includes benefits past due, benefits paid without prejudice acquired and/or retained through the services of an attorney and unpaid medical bills. In no case, shall the employer/insurer be required to pay an amount for medical services in excess of the medical fee schedule regulations or the provider's charges, whichever is less.

4. If a case is in litigation and is lump sum settled prior to decree, attorney's fees may be collected from the employee as follows, subject to the approval of the hearing officer: the attorney's fee capped at 30% of benefits accrued in addition to the designated percentage set forth in 39-A M.R.S.A. §325(4)(B).

§ 2. Disputed Fees

1. If attorney's fees are charged in accordance with 39-A M.R.S.A. §325 and the provisions of this rule and there is no dispute with respect to payment of the fee, then board approval of the fee is not necessary.

2. If a dispute arises between an employee and his or her attorney regarding the payment of attorney's fees, either the employee or his or her counsel may file a motion with a hearing officer. The motion must be served on the opposing party and must be filed in the appropriate regional office. Within 30 days following the receipt of this motion, the opposing party shall submit a written statement of objections to the fee for which payment is sought. In issuing an order, the hearing officer shall consider the following factors: (1) the complexity of the issues presented; (2) the novelty of the questions raised; (3) the quality of the representation; (4) the time and labor required; (5) the skills and experience of the attorney; and (6) the benefits to the employee.

3. Hearings will be held on fee motions only at the discretion of the hearing officer.

§ 3. Multiple Dates of Injury

1. If there are multiple dates of injury and at least one date of injury pre-dates and at least one date of injury post-dates January 1, 1993, the provisions of this subsection apply. Attorney's fees must be allocated in proportion to one or more of the following factors: (1) the role each date of injury played in the litigation; (2) the extent to which each party precipitated the need for litigation; and (3) the ultimate success of the petition(s) alleging

a particular date of injury. This analysis must be performed on a case-by-case basis.

2. Once the allocation has been made, the employer/insurer must pay attorney's fees for any injuries that pre-date January 1, 1993 in accordance with 39 M.R.S.A. §110. For injuries that post-date January 1, 1993, the attorney may charge the employee a fee in accordance with section 1 of this rule.

3. Disputes regarding the appropriate allocation of fees must be resolved by motion pursuant to subsection 2 of this rule.

§ 4. Other Matters

1. The employee may designate his or her attorney's office as the location where checks are to be sent in accordance with 39-A M.R.S.A. §205(1).

EFFECTIVE DATE:

April 14, 1998

NON-SUBSTANTIVE CORRECTIONS:

January 9, 2003 - character spacing only

REPEALED AND REPLACED:

August 18, 2014 – filing 2014-176