Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
Rearend/settlement
I was rearended two years ago. The damage to my car was minimal but my shoulder was injured and I had surgery a year ago. I am not better and may never be. I was out of work for months and took a much lower paying job when it looked like I wouldn't heal. I ended up working three times as much and making less money. I had to drop out of school. I am frustrated with my lawyer. Nearly all contact between us is initiated by me. He has given me little advice and I have to hound his office to get info on my case.
My wage loss is 38K my medical is 20K. My lawyer finally submitted a demand for 140K without telling me how he came to this figure. 140K is a lot but after 34% and the medical it isn't what I hoped. I know that the ins. co. will offer less. I want what it would take to get me to the point where I would have been if there was no accident.
Q 1: Is my case undervalued? Q 2: Do lawyers give second opinions? I looked for one to take over my case but couldn't find one who would take a case in progress. I hired my lawyer because he was the only one I could find who was interested shortly after my accident. At that time it looked as if I would be better soon and my case was only valued at 1K.
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Rearend/settlement
A rear-end accident with minimal property damage is very tough these days. The other ins. co. will fight and dispute your injuries and damages as not being accident-related. Many attys won't take these cases at all. The ins. companies will hire "experts" to say you weren't hurt. Poor communication with some attys is always a problem. He may feel your case has a lot of problems and will be difficult to prove. With your damages, $140K may be in the ballpark or it may be low. We give 2nd opinions but I'd need a lot more medical info and what your surgeon says.
A case in progress is hard as the new atty has to play catch-up and has to share the atty fee with the lst atty. Also, if your case is 2 years old, you are already in litigation or soon will be. That adds costs and time. If your atty submitted a demand, he's trying to settle. Try to get an appointment for a sit-down meeting with him to get a game plan going. At this late date, it might be better to stick it out with him. You can also try to get a consultation with a 2nd atty in your area where the accident ocurred.
Re: Rearend/settlement
I agree with Mr. Eagle's assessment. Make sure, though, that a lawsuit has been filed if the two-year mark from the accident is very close.
Re: Rearend/settlement
If you have a complete copy of your file, I wouldn't mind to take a look at it and give you my opinion. This of course should be done without discharging your lawyer. You may simply ask for the copy of your file and tell him/her that it is for the purpose of getting another opinion.
Re: Rearend/settlement
As stated by the other attorneys, you appear to be fairly deep in the process or you should be if your case is two years old.
I would be willing to review your file and would have to. The fact that your P.I. case was assessed at $1K and you are demanding $140K for your personal injury case seems odd. We also need to get information regarding the policy limits of the driver.
This is general information for your request for a second opinion and you should continue your attorney-client relationship with your current attorney until another attorney agrees to take your case.
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