Legal Question in Personal Injury in Florida

I have a lawyer for a claim of gross negligence. She has threatened to drop me as a client several times. Today she told me a settlement offer, but I regarded the amount as way too low- a fraction of what I expected. When I argued to ask for more, she again threatened to drop me as a client. Is this 'all right' for lawyers to do?


Asked on 5/17/17, 8:09 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Barry Stein De Cardenas, Freixas, Stein & Zachary

The threats are not the best way to handle a client. I suspect she is trying to impress upon you the reality of the settlement offer and why you should take it. If you have doubts, seek another opinion. Gross negligence claims are rare and not often successful.

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Answered on 5/18/17, 6:41 am
Jason Neufeld Neufeld, Kleinberg & Pinkiert, PA, a personal-injury and elder law firm

Gross negligence is an incredibly difficult standard to meet (much different than an ordinary negligence claim).

You can fire your attorney at any time and, similarly, your attorney can fire you if there is a fundamental disagreement between what a client wants and what a lawyer, in his/her experience, believes is reasonable.

As Mr. Stein indicated you may want to discuss the case with another attorney to see if you can find one who assesses that case similarly to you. Any potential new attorney will want to speak to your current lawyer to find out the good, bad and ugly.

Best of luck to you.

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Answered on 5/18/17, 6:58 am
Alan Wagner Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore P.A.

Careful . . . . if you fire your lawyer and she is working on a contingency fee, then she will have a lien on the file for fees and it may be tough to find a replacement for her. If she fires you, then it is not likely that she can assert a fee lien. You should speak with or e-mail with an attorney to determine how to best protect yourself.

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Answered on 5/18/17, 8:36 am


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