(a) Whenever any fees or expenses are, under the provisions of this chapter, to be paid by the employer or insurer and not by the employee, the administrative law judge may make an award directly in favor of the person entitled to the fees or expenses, which award shall be filed in court, shall be subject to appeal and shall be enforceable by execution as in other cases. The award may be combined with an award for compensation in favor of or against the injured employee or the dependent or dependents of a deceased employee or may be the subject of an award covering only the fees and expenses.
(b) All fees of attorneys, physicians, podiatrists or other persons for services under this chapter shall be subject to the approval of the administrative law judge.
(1949 Rev., S. 7467; 1958 Rev., S. 31-194; 1961, P.A. 491, S. 53; P.A. 91-32, S. 34, 41; P.A. 21-18, S. 1.)
History: 1961 act entirely replaced previous provisions; P.A. 91-32 made technical changes, designated existing section as Subsec. (a) and added Subsec. (b) re approval of attorneys', physicians' and other fees by commissioner; pursuant to P.A. 21-18, “commissioner” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “administrative law judge”, effective October 1, 2021.
Cited. 103 C. 434.
Review board can review commissioner's award of attorney's fees for consistency with fee guidelines. 59 CA 816. Commissioner has authority to approve attorney's fees contained in an award separate from an award for compensation. 64 CA 301. Award of “reasonable attorney's fees” issued under section may, at the discretion of commissioner, include fees accrued by paralegals. 152 CA 116. The commissioner, and by extension the Workers' Compensation Commission, has the authority to adjudicate fee disputes among attorneys who have represented a claimant at different times during the pendency of a case before the commission. 179 CA 846.
Cited. 28 CS 5.
PART C
EMPLOYERS' MUTUAL INSURANCE
Notes of Decisions
Frantzen v. Davenport Elec., 181 A.3d 578 (Conn. App. Ct. 2018).
· cites it 15× “This case presents the issue of whether the Workers' Compensation Commission (commission) has the statutory authority, pursuant to General Statutes § 31-327 (b), 1 to decide fee disputes among attorneys who have represented a claimant at different times during the pendency of a…”
Pelc v. Southington Dental Assocs., P.C., 337 A.3d 50 (Conn. App. Ct. 2025).
· cites it 38× “fees pursuant to General Statutes § 31-327 (a);4 (3) the entire Workers’ Compensation Commission (commis- sion) should have disqualified itself from hearing these proceedings; and (4) the board overlooked the adminis- trative law judge’s alleged violation of the appellant’s…”
Schiano v. Bliss Exterminating Co., 792 A.2d 835 (Conn. 2002).
· cites it 3× “General Statutes § 31-327 (a) provides in relevant part: “Whenever any fees or expenses are, under the provisions of this chapter, to be paid by the employer or insurer and not by the employee, the commissioner may make an award directly in favor of the person entitled to the…”
Prioli v. State Library, 780 A.2d 172 (Conn. App. Ct. 2001).
· cites it 7× “lthough the amount of attorney’s fees awarded in a § 31-290a action is not the maximum an attorney may accept, Schweitzer did not provide any evidence that his expertise and ability, the time he spent on the case, the results he achieved in that time, the standard billing rate…”
Day v. City of Middletown, 757 A.2d 1267 (Conn. App. Ct. 2000).
· cites it 6× “5 The firm first claims that the board improperly reduced its award of attorney’s fees from $30,000 to $20,000 because such a determination is within the sole discretion of the commissioner pursuant to General Statutes § 31-327 (b). 6 We disagree.”
Day v. City of Middletown, 716 A.2d 47 (Conn. 1998).
· cites it 5× “2 In a subsequent fee approval hearing pursuant to General Statutes § 31-327 (b), 3 the workers’ compensation commissioner awarded $30,000 in attorneys’ fees, to be shared by the defendant and Bartlett.”
Bartolotta v. United States, 276 F. Supp. 66 (D. Conn. 1967).
“…or neglect of employer or insurer) ; § 31-326 (proceedings against delinquent insurance companies or employers ); § 31-327 (payment of fees and expenses by employer or insurer); § *72 31-341 (notice of compensation hearing sent to insurer to be the same as one sent to…”
Barrette v. Travelers Ins., 246 A.2d 102 (Conn. Super. Ct. 1968).
“…fault or neglect of employer or insurer); § 31-326 (proceedings against delinquent insurance companies or employers); § 31-327 (payment of fees and expenses by employer or insurer); § 31-341 (notice of compensation hearing sent to insurer to be the same as one sent to employer…”
Frantzen v. Davenport Elec., 261 A.3d 41 (Conn. App. Ct. 2021).
“855 (holding ‘‘that [General Statutes] § 31-327 (b) grants the commission the authority to adjudicate fee disputes between successive counsel concerning their representations of a claimant before the commission’’).”
Kinsey v. World Pac, 152 Conn. App. 116 (Conn. App. Ct. 2014).
· cites it 6× “In reaching this decision, the board stated: ‘‘We find that the provisions of § 31-327 . . . make the determination of what is a reasonable legal fee within the discretion of the trial commissioner.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.