CRAIG L. FRISCH, Employee/Appellant,
v.
S & S CARPET DESIGNS and STATE FARM INS. CO., Employer-Insurer.
Minnesota Workers Compensation
Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals
January 19, 1999
HEADNOTES
ATTORNEY
FEES - RORAFF FEES; STATUTES CONSTRUED - MINN. Stat.
§ 176.081, SUBD. 1(a)(1) (1995). Roraff fees on
medical services are limited to a percentage of the value of
the services, plus interest, as limited by the fee schedule,
even if a reasonable fee for the employee's attorney
would be substantially greater. The value of the
services need not be ascertainable on the date of hearing.
Affirmed
as modified.
Determined
en banc.
Compensation Judge: Janice M. Culnane.
OPINION
STEVEN
D. WHEELER, Judge
The
employee appeals from the compensation judge's
application of Minn. Stat. § 176.081, subd. 1(a)(1) (1995),
limiting the award of Roraff fees,[1] to be paid by
the employer and insurer, as a result of successfully
obtaining an award of medical expenses. The employee
argues that his attorney is entitled to a reasonable fee,
which the compensation judge found would be $6,510,
consisting of a contingent fee of $392.46 and a
Roraff fee of $6,117.54, rather than the aggregate
fee of only $571.94, resulting from the Roraff fee
of $179.48 actually awarded by the compensation judge.
BACKGROUND
The
employee sustained an admitted work injury on November 20,
1995, while employed by S & S Carpet Designs as an
apprentice carpet layer. When injured, the employee was
18 years old and had a weekly wage of $315.50. The
employer and insurer voluntarily paid temporary total
disability benefits to the employee from the date of injury
through January 15, 1996. After that date, the employee
moved to Hutchinson, Minnesota, where he was employed as an
assistant manager in training in a retail athletic clothing
store. His wages at this employer ranged from $5.25 an
hour at the outset to $6.00 per hour in August
1996. After August 15, 1996, the employee was promoted
to a position in which his wages exceeded his preinjury
weekly wage.
After
his injury, the employee sought medical attention from a
number of chiropractors, including Dr. Joel Wulff of Brooklyn
Park and Dr. Randy Anderson of Hutchinson. The employer
and insurer voluntarily paid the employee's chiropractic
bills until early 1996 when they began to challenge these
expenses. (Exh. A.) Nevertheless, the employer and
insurer paid the employee's medical expenses through
August 5, 1996, when the employee was examined by Dr. David
Gottlieb, D.C., at the request of the employer and
insurer. Through the date of hearing, the unpaid bills
submitted by Drs. Wulff and Anderson totaled
$684.90. (Exhs. G and H from the 12/11/97 hearing.)
On
March 1, 1996, the employee consulted with attorney David C.
Wulff. At the hearing, Mr. Wulff indicated that one of
the employee's primary concerns was protecting his need
for ongoing medical and chiropractic treatment to alleviate
his pain and disability. (T. 47.) On January 17,
1997, the employee filed a claim petition in which he claimed
a thoracic-lumbar strain/sprain, entitlement to temporary
partial disability benefits from January 16, 1996 through
August 15, 1996, permanent partial disability in the amount
of 5% as impairment compensation and payment...
