| WORKERS COMPENSATION PREMIUM DISPUTES
“You need a lawyer who understands insurance as well as the carrier does.” J. Layne Smith
Mr. Smith has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1987. He aggressively represents clients in state and federal court proceedings and in administrative hearings throughout Florida. Mr. Smith consults with and represents employers who have workers' compensation premium disputes with their insurers. He has well over 20,000 hours experience negotiating and defending premium collection efforts, premium fraud disputes, coverage disputes, and criminal investigations and prosecutions. Mr. Smith consults with employers throughout the United States to help them avoid or rectify mistakes that cost them additional premium.
J. Layne Smith knows the intricacies of the law and the manuals of rules that insurance carriers incorporate into their workers comp policies. He has negotiated and litigated premium disputes for and against The National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. ("NCCI"), and both the voluntary and involuntary market carriers. He has sued the Florida Workers’ Compensation Joint Underwriting Association, and defended lawsuits brought by Florida’s residual market. Mr. Smith's experience for and against the insurance industry enables him to bring various perspectives to the negotiating table. He has litigated premium disputes in federal and state courts involving:
Premium calculations and collections; Payroll/Remuneration; Classification Codes; Experience Rating Modification Factors; Audits; Eligibility for Coverage; The Borrowed Servant Doctrine; Distinguishing Independent Contractors from Employees; Exempt Status for Independent Contractors; Retrospective Ratings; Poor Claims Handling by Insurers; Dividends; Alleged Premium Fraud; Statutory Employees; Restitution Hearings in Criminal Cases; etc.
Mr. Smith consults with employers to help them avoid or rectify mistakes that may cost them additional, unnecessary premium. He also consults with attorneys and serves as co-counsel, or as a consulting expert. Mr. Smith litigates cases outside of Florida, pro hac vice.
Industries targeted by insurers for workers compensation premium disputes:
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