Legal Question in Personal Injury in Illinois

I have a claim against a place in Joliet,Il for my daughter and I, we were bitten by ants on August 22,2010 and I had an allergic reaction and my daughters bite turned into an affection and she had to have surgery done to cut open her knee to remove the infection. I have a lawyer that has been working with me since August 25, 2010. I am not receiving returned phone calls I am not getting answers to the questions that are being answered or the answers that I get are lies to me. I was told that the place was ready to negotiate a price and that they needed a month to get medical records and that was four months ago. I am not happy with the services that I am getting it seems like I am not a priority. The lawyer who is handling my case I will talk to her and she will say she will call back and never does I leave messages and the answering service says to give it 24 hours to get a response and I never do I have to call again. I am very, very unhappy. I am was in the process of re-enlisting into the military and cannot until this case is done. Can someone please inform me on what I can do? Thank you.


Asked on 3/22/11, 1:24 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Kelly Bennett Bennett Law Offices

Let me make a couple of points. First, your issue is with your attorney and you pose no legal question. I think it would be inappropriate to comment on "what you can do" to assist you with your current attorney. Second, you can certainly enlist prior to the completion of your case. You appear to be choosing not to for some reason, but a lawsuit does not bar you from any such activity. There are military stay calendars in many jurisdictions and, most of what you would be required to do could be done via email or U.S. mail

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Answered on 3/22/11, 2:17 pm
Burton Padove Indiana and Illinois Lawyer, Burton A. Padove

There are some things stated by you that are out of the attorneys control such as how quickly the other side asks for records directly from your provider. Every attorney who practices injury law can tell you that we have had times when the other side says a month and then it takes longer. I might also add that it is rare that a case is settled in 6 months time so I would not wait on enlisting.

That being said, there is no excuse for a lawyer not to communicate with his or her client. The most important part of an attorney-cient relationship is communication andthere has been a breakdown here and based on what you have provided, it sounds like the attorney is the cause. She should return your calls promptly. If she is too busy at the time to discuss your case, such as when there are court deadlines or trials and hearings, she can certainly send an email or have someone call you to tell you that she will get back to you soon.

You have an asbolute right to discharge your attorney at anytime. She will be entitled to hourly compensation for the work performed to date and will have to provide an itemization to you.

Usually, a discharged attorney and the new attorney work out a method of compensation. The new attorney will get paid based on a contingency fee, less the amount that he or she will pay to your old attorney for the work performed prior to discharge.

Good luck.

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Answered on 3/23/11, 4:00 am


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