Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

Re: Not satisfied with attorneys performance

In California you can always terminate your attorney. However, he or she sill probably have a lien on the case for their normal hourly rate and the time they have spent on the case. Look at your retainer agreement.

Norm

www.thepersonalinjury.com

Re: Not satisfied with attorneys performance

You can always change attorneys, especially before any suit is filed. However, if the first attorney already has an offer, the second attorney will end up having to resolve the issue and dispute over attorney fees with the first attorney. That should not result in you paying any more in fees, so don't worry about that aspect. The problem is that, if the case is only worth what is currently offered, then a new attorney will not be interested in taking the case. You need to consult with an attorney to see if the current offer is reasonable. Without knowing all the facts, I can't give you an opinion over the net. Feel free to contact me if interested in getting this done right.

Re: Not satisfied with attorneys performance

I'm sorry to hear about your predicament, but my answer may not make you feel any better.

You can replace your attorney, but doing so isn't necessarily going to help. The reason he has only been able to get a $30,000 offer may have nothing to do with his skills, and a different attorney may not be able to do any better. Your lawyer may indeed be doing a poor job and another might be able to get you more money. You seem to presume that the lawyer is the problem, though, and you need to understand why the offer is only $30,000 before you decide what to do.

It is possible that the defendant is poor and that $30,000 is his policy limit. The insurer won't pay more than the policy limit, and it only makes sense to reject a policy limit offer if you think you will be able to collect significantly more -- enough to cover the cost of trial and still leave additional funds for you -- from the defendant. A larger judgment will do you no good if the defendant can't pay it. Further, unless he hurt you intentionally, the defendant can discharge most or even all of his obligation to you via bankruptcy.

There are other possible explanations for the size of the offer. Was the accident partially your fault? If your medical bills, pain and suffering and lost income are worth $60,000 but you were 50% at fault then $30,000 is the appropriate amount to recover. If you were driving but had no insurance then you are barred from recovering for pain and suffering, so insisting on a sum that includes such damages will get you nowhere in settlement discussions or at trial.

Your ability to recover for lost income will depend upon whether you can prove you would have had an income and how much it would have been. Your question refers to training but not to work experience, and if you are speculating about what you would have earned then your figure may be too high. And if the jury believes you should have started doing some other type of work it will deduct the amount you could have earned from the income you've lost.

Alternatively, there may be problems with the evidence that will make your case hard to win. If the case seems to warrant a $50,000 recovery after costs but there is a 40% chance that you will lose, then a $30,000 settlement is a good deal.

There are many other reasons why you may not be able to do better than $30,000 even with a different lawyer. The fact that $30,000 won't adequately compensate you doesn't mean you will be able to get more from the defendant, and you need to focus on what is recoverable rather than on what you feel you deserve.

Even if you fire your lawyer, he will probably still be entitled to a share of the recovery. This fact may make it hard to get a new lawyer unless you are increase the total percentage of their fee. This increase could exceed any increase in your recovery and is another factor you need to keep in mind.

Good luck.