Alabama Worker's Comp Law Struck Down

By Lehr Middlebrooks Vreeland & Thompson, P.C.

May 9, 2017

In a potentially monumental decision, on May 8th, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Pat Ballard struck down the Alabama Worker's Compensation Act as unconstitutional.  Specifically, Judge Ballard held that limits imposed in 1989 on compensation payments to injured workers and fees for their attorneys were so low as to violate the Alabama Constitution.  Currently, compensation payments to injured employees are capped at $220 a week no matter how much the employee was paid regularly and attorney's fees are capped at 15% of the employee's award.  The judge noted that the comp payments would be below the poverty line for a family of four.

Although the decision focused on the payment and fee caps, if the decision holds, the effect would be strike down the entire Worker's Compensation Act.  Judge Ballard stayed his opinion for 120 days to allow the Alabama legislature an opportunity to fix the issues.  We expect that the case will be appealed.

The implications are monumental.  If the Worker's Comp act is unconstitutional, employees would be allowed to sue employers in tort for work-related injuries.  They would be able to recover not only for medical treatment, but also for pain and suffering and potentially punitive damages.