Legal Question in Personal Injury in Florida

Re: Slip n Fall

Did you sign a contract for representation (and other documents) with your current attorney? If so, you would be best served by scheduling an appointment with or otherwise speaking to that lawyer about the status of the case.

Medical providers, including doctors, often (though not always) speak from beyond their field of expertise and enter the zone of ineptitude when giving a legal opinion.

In my twenty-four years of practice in the personal injury field -- first representing the defense and then representing only plaintiffs, a small yet significant number of doctors and other medical professionals have spoken from that zone.

For example, if the client has no funds to obtain medical treatment, many to most doctors will refuse treatment. Some will take what is known as an LOP (letter of protection).

An LOP is a letter to the medical provider signed by the attorney (after authorization from the client) stating that payment for medical bills will be paid directly from the funds of any settlement made on the client/patient's behalf. Whether the provider will take such a letter is often dependent on how the injury occurred.

Liability (which would be based on negligence in this case) is much more difficult to prove in a slip and fall than when the patient/client is rear-ended in an auto accident. Therefore, a provider who might take an LOP in the auto case may not be willing to do so in a slip and fall. As a result, your attorney may not have had many options in helping you get medical treatment.

On the other hand, some supermarkets have insurance that pays (up to a limited dollar amount) for treatment for injuries occurring on their premises regardless of fault. If such insurance exists and your attorney did nothing to discover its existence or to get your medical bills paid from it, then your doctor is right � the lawyer dropped the ball.

If you are not comfortable with your attorney, you should fire him in writing and obtain a new one. If, however, you believe it may simply be a matter of miscommunication or lack of communication, sit down with him and discuss your concerns.

Good luck.

Very truly yours,

David S. TenBrook