Legal Question in Legal Malpractice in California

My question is this: MY lawyer in a personal injury case, agreed to an oral contract with my wife and i in the confrence room of the court house when the oposite sides attorney, made an offer to settle. This contract we made with OUR attorney stated that the OUR attorney was to pay ALL medical bills from the case out of the settlement ,not just the ones with liens on them, but ALL of them, if we were to except an offer from the oposite sides attorney that was presented to us in the case. OUR attorney agreed to this oral contract. We came to find out, 2 yrs later that OUR attorney did not pay some of those bills that he had and was supose to pay under our oral contract with him at the time of settlement of the case. i have looked into the definition of an oral contract, and it says the best way to prove this, is by the actions of the attorney after the contract was made. This attorney i am speaking of indeed paid all the liens against our case, but also took care of paying 2 other doctors who didnt have liens filed. these doctors were his doctors that he wanted us to see. the attorneys claim to us was, he legally only had to pay medical liens, and he isnt required to pay just medical bills, even tho our oral contract was to pay all medical bills not just ones with liens on them. So with those facts i have stated would it be a breach of contract on his part( the lawyer) because in fact that his actions ,by paying the medical bills of the two doctors, that didnt have medical liens , this ment he did understand the oral contract we had together in the court house. which then means he breach our contract together. would this be right on MY part, to think he did understood the oral contract we made together then, because he still hasnt paid the others to this day, and by the other I mean, they add up to about 25% of all the medical bills we had against us in the case. so there still is a very big bill that hasnt been taken care of yet. Is there any attorney's in the Sacramento region of California that will help my wife and i get some kinda justice out of this mess. everyone i have spoken to so far said that pretty much my case wasnt a high enough dollar amount to them to fight. it will cost alot of money and there time to fight and told me that what i would receive, because of the legal fees involved would be very little. well money isnt everything. i just want those medical bills taken care of, and i would like the attorney to get in trouble for his actions. clients need to be able to trust there attorney's. and this one let us down.it would have to be pro bono,because we have no money to fight this injustice


Asked on 11/05/12, 9:35 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

It depends on who the doctors were whom he paid who didn't have liens. They might have been experts who examined you and prepared reports for the purpose of litigation, rather than doctors who actually treated you. Retainer agreements must be in writing if the value of the case is $1,000 or more. Have you considered a small claims action and/or complaining to the State Bar if you feel that your attorney did not pay the doctors as you instructed him to do?

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Answered on 11/08/12, 7:39 pm


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