While on prescription drugs the day after a horrendous accident involving my daughter and myself, an "ambulance chasers" assistant came to my home and "talked me into signing" a contract to have this attorney represent me. What, as i later discovered, was a probable 6 figure settlement, turned out to be settled by this attorney for approximately 12K. In addition ,after the settlement was paid and I reluctantly accepted the check, I have been informed that my health care provider will possibly place a lien on my home for the reimbursment of my hospital bills. The attorney seems to be very disinterested in discussing this matter due to the fact that he's received his 33% fee. This particular attorney states that despite the horrendous nature of the accident, that there was no justification in more settlement money because "Thank God!" there were only soft tissue injuries to my daughter and myself. I'm not sure of my recourse, with regard to sueing this attoney. Can some light be shed?
2007-07-17 08:24:06 · 6 answers · asked by Quintin H 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
The only possibility of legal recourse is if your states bans lawyers and their designees from initiating contact.
Other than that, it sounds like you signed a contract and in it was all the information regarding who paid what bills, in other words, if you look at the contract that you were "talked into signing", you will find that you are probably responsible for paying all bills incurred from the accident from your portion of the sttlement.
Discovering later that it was a "probable 6 figure settlement" sounds like either a friend or another attorney said..."Holy smokes I could have gotten you at least XXX,XXX.00 for that!", without having all the details from BOTH sides of the issue.
If it was in fact soft tissue injuries, then you should be thankful.
Not to slam you or anything, but it sounds to me like you signed a contract without reading it, got your check, cashed it, spent it, now someone is telling you that you could have gotten more money, and you want to find someone to blame so you can sue somebody, at the same time people want their money from you, you don't have it anymore because you spent it not knowing what was in the contract.
The prescription drug issue...unless it rendered you incompetent of making decisions, then that wan't play into this at all.
2007-07-19 06:22:11 · answer #1 · answered by Michael H 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How did you get the settlement check without first agreeing to the settlement amount? I can understand that you may not have been completely coherent when you signed the contract to have this attorney represent you, but that did not give the attorney the power to negotiate a final settlement amount without your consent. Surely you signed the settlement papers too? Did you read them?
Also, if your case was worth six figures, I would imagine that your attorney would have preferred to collect $33,000 rather than $4,000.
Now, I have no idea whether your attorney did something wrong. I am surprised that your bills were not discussed. Did you settle for less than your medical bills, or did you simply not pay them after you received your settlement check?
You've given us about 10% of the complete picture, which makes it impossible to answer you with any certainty. Find a local attorney who specializes in attorney malpractice actions and see what he or she has to say.
2007-07-17 09:31:48 · answer #2 · answered by Bahmo 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
OK, regardless of how you might have been "talked into" signing a contract and "reluctantly" accepted a check, the bottom line is that under the law, you signed that contract, so I hope you read it, and you accepted the check, and probably signed away some rights when you did.
First of all, get another lawyer to handle the reimbursement of the hospital. If the settlement was so far below the amount of your medical bills that you have a lien, they can re-file against other liable parties for more money. But it seems to me that the settlement you got was for paying the hospital, which if you did, they wouldn't have put a lien on your home.
Second, for God's sake, read the contract that the lawyer makes you sign. If you sign a legally binding document, you can't go back later and say you didn't understand or you don't like the outcome, because you signed it and you are legally bound by it, period.
Don't be mad at the lawyer YOU hired (whether you wanted to or not) for making a settlement you didn't like. A lawyer has to get his client to sign off on any settlement, so likely it's another document you signed without reading or understanding. Call him back, he'll probably show you a piece of paper agreeing to the settlement, with your signature on it.
2007-07-17 08:34:52 · answer #3 · answered by Hillary 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
became the quantity of harm to the different occasion extra effective than the bounds of your insurance? if so, then the different occasion can sue you for the version. If the quantity paid by your insurance became an analogous because of the fact the quantity claimed, then the declare became satisfied and additionally you owe no longer something. tell your agent what's happening and request evidence that the declare became paid in finished. while you're sued take the evidence to courtroom.
2016-10-04 00:49:23 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Did they contact you originally or did you contact them? In some states, including here in Texas, it is illegal for them to initiate the contact. They could be thrown out of the Bar Association.
Remember, you do not have to accept the settlement the attorney negotiates unless you gave him the power to do so. Unfortunately it sounds like you may have already accepted it.
2007-07-17 08:30:05 · answer #5 · answered by Michael C 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Contact an attorney who specializes in legal malpractice.
2007-07-17 08:27:34 · answer #6 · answered by Eyota Zen 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋