Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

Re: lawyers job to get the full amount & pay off your bills?

The 'goal' is to maximize the client's recovery. Various laws, rules, and the client's contract with the attorney have a bearing on how that turns out. In PI cases, the attorney gets his agreed % share off the top of the gross recovery. If the remaining recovery isn't enough to pay all the bills out of the client's share, then the creditors could still pursue and sue the client if they choose. That's no different than if there is no recovery because the case is lost. Most attorneys will help the client by TRYING to negotiate with the creditors to reduce their bill balances. The attorney is not obligated to do so, nor are the creditors obligated to accept only a portion of their bills. Currently, in most small value PI cases, the client would be really fortunate to get enough of a recovery to have his medical bills paid in full, with a couple bucks left in his pocket.

Re: lawyers job to get the full amount & pay off your bills?

Yes. I'd get the best settlement I could, then pay the medical liens where the client and I have agreed to pay, then there's atty fees and costs and then the balance to the client. The atty should try to get the client as much as possible on an ethical basis and it's good business for repeat clients and referrals.