AL Ruling: A Strike Down, and Now a Stay

Birmingham, AL (WorkersCompensation.com) - Since striking down the Alabama Workers’ Compensation Act as unconstitutional last week, Jefferson County Judge Pat Ballard has now ordered a stay.

Industry expert Peter Rousmaniere reported how recently three states separately shot down their respective workers' compensation acts, including Supreme Courts in Utah, Florida and Alabama. “These decisions favored injured workers. A ruling by an Alabama court last week may be the most important of the three, because it most directly goes to the heart of the problem, which is adequacy of benefits,” Rousmaniere wrote.

"The stay was probably inevitable given the disruption that the Ballard decision would have caused, had the legislature not acted," Rousmaniere told WorkersCompensation.com via email today. "Some in the industry think that similar constitutional challenges will occur in other states, in part emboldened by this case."

At first, Ballard gave legislators 120 days to make what he deemed unconstitutional right, but now a stay is in order until lawmakers adjust the present 15 percent cap on attorney fees and $220 cap on weekly Permanent Partial Disability (PPD), with the latter significant, since presently the act designates injured employees as either Temporary Total Disabled (TDD) or PPD, with the benefits altered later with Alabama's weekly remuneration.

In the end, taxpayers will suffer from the long overdue adjustment to the act, according to Ballard. “Inevitably, this will mean that Alabama's taxpayers will shoulder a large measure of the burden,” and “these crises are the direct result of a problem created and allowed to persist by the Legislature," wrote the judge in his order, as reported on AL.com.

William Hassinger, managing attorney for Wettermark & Keith, said in WorkersCompensation.com story last week that Ballard’s order is overdue. “Going forward, primarily and hopefully it will prompt the state legislature to finally do something about this problem,” Hassinger said. “I am optimistic that both parties can come together to work out a much better system to adequately provide for Alabama workers who are undoubtedly the backbone for this state.”

Hassinger could not be reached for an updated comment before publication. The story will be updated if more details become available.

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