§386-94 Attorneys, physicians, other health care providers, and other fees. Claims for services shall not be valid unless approved by the director or, if an appeal is had, by the appellate board or court deciding the appeal. Any claim so approved shall be a lien upon the compensation in the manner and to the extent fixed by the director, the appellate board, or the court.

In approving fee requests, the director, appeals board, or court may consider factors such as the attorney's skill and experience in state workers' compensation matters, the amount of time and effort required by the complexity of the case, the novelty and difficulty of issues involved, the amount of fees awarded in similar cases, benefits obtained for the claimant, and the hourly rate customarily awarded attorneys possessing similar skills and experience. In all cases, reasonable attorney's fees shall be awarded.

Any person who receives any fee, other consideration, or gratuity on account of services so rendered, without approval, in conformity with the preceding paragraph, shall be fined by the director not more than $10,000. [L 1963, c 116, pt of §1; Supp, §97-103; HRS §386-94; am L 1985, c 296, §6; am L 1988, c 37, §2; am L 1993, c 301, §1; am L Sp 2005, c 11, §9]

Case Notes

The disability compensation division of the department of labor and industrial relations must set forth its reasons for reducing an attorney's fee request for appropriate appeals board and possible judicial review of the reduction pursuant to §91-14; the format of an order reducing attorney's fees and/or costs need only be sufficient to enable appropriate review for abuse of discretion. 132 H. 320, 321 P.3d 671 (2014).

The intermediate court of appeals did not err in concluding that the disability compensation division of the department of labor and industrial relations was not required to hold a contested case hearing on petitioner's request to reopen petitioner's attorney's fees and costs request. 132 H. 320, 321 P.3d 671 (2014).