Schilling v. Industrial Accident Commission

THE COURT.

Petitioner instituted this proceeding in

certiorari

to review the. order of the Industrial Accident Commission fixing his compensation, after rehearing, for legal services rendered to an applicant for compensatiou

[191]

under the provisions of the Workmen’s Compensation Insurance and Safety Act.

[1]

It appears from the record that the applicant, having been injured while in the course of his employment, consulted petitioner, who is an attorney at law, and through his advice and counsel procured temporary compensation from the insurance carrier; that thereafter he obtained other employment, during the course of which he was again injured and again consulted petitioner; and that thereafter, as the result of further consultation with petitioner, he was advised that he might apply for permanent compensation as the result of the first injury upon medical testimony which it was deemed possible to procure at that time. This application was made through the advice and assistance of petitioner, and a partial hearing was had thereon before the commission, wherein the evidence was very unfavorable to the applicant; but thereafter, through the advice and activities of petitioner, a settlement was made with the insurance carrier for $650, which was approved by the commission and subsequently paid. It further appears that at the time of the approval of this settlement the- commission fixed the compensation for petitioner’s legal services at $45 without a hearing; that at the request of petitioner a rehearing was granted by the commission for the purpose of determining the reasonableness of the order fixing such fee. Petitioner claimed that he had an oral contract with the applicant for the payment of one-third of the amount recovered from the insurance carrier, which amount included payment for legal services rendered by him to the applicant in matters not directly connected with the proceeding in which the recovery was had. He insisted that this contract should not be declared void

in toio,

and that in any event the allowance of forty-five dollars was wholly unreasonable in payment for the legal services which he had rendered in the proceeding before the commission.