Legal Question in Personal Injury in Illinois

Keep in mind that your attorney is not a public relation company. He is there to make sure he maximizes your recovery from the insurance companies. It is not unheard of that the medical providers are obnoxious--they expect payment of all sorts when they get to know there is a law firm involved but then they pretend they are the victim when they talk to their patients. In fact, it is likely that the medical provider is trying to make some money off the attorney by charging way too much for medical records (the very records your attorney needs to make a recovery for you so that you can pay these doctors) and then on top of that demand that the attorney protects the doctor's bills!!

In any event, don't be so quick on jumping all over your attorney. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to get him the documents he needs so as to prove your case. Further, your attorney is under no obligation to play an ATM machine for you and advance the costs of the prosecution of your case--he does that as a courtesy to you but has no obligation to do it.

I hope this helps-

If you look at your contract with the attorney, I doubt that it requires him to negotiate or provide updates to your medical providers. It usually states that he or she is being hired to represent you concerning a particular person or company. There is nothing in there, concerning updates to medical billing companies. However, from a practical viewpoint, having communication with bill collectors is a necessary evil, since oftentimes, clients are seriously injured and not working or do not have medical insurance.

Usually, an attorney is willing to write a letter of protection to a medical provider to pay the provider at the time that the case is settled or goes to trial. Additionally, the attorney will seek records, billing statments and possibly a medical report. Other than that, communication between the attorney and the medical provider is usually limited to scheduling if testimony is required. At the time that the case is about to be settled or after judgment, the attorney will usually try to negotiate a lower payoff to the medical provider-usually at no additional charge even though this can often take hours to complete.

I cannot tell you why there has been a breakdown in the communication between the attorney and your provider's billing service. However, I can state that some companies are rather persistent and are constantly calling for updates, sending faxes, emails, letters and calls. As a result, an attorney often finds himself spending more time talking to the bill collectors than he or she is in advocating a client's case.

Your obligation is to cooperate with the attorney and assist him in obtaining the materials that he needs in order to represent you, properly. If he or she needs for you to update your medical providers, you should do so as that will give your attorney more time to spend on resolving your case.

Finally, if you do not care for your attorney, you have an absolute right to discharge your attorney at any time. The usual practice when an attorney is discharged in a personal injury case is that the attorney is entitled to an hourly fee for the time that she or he has put into the case and any expenses incurred to date. The first attorney and the attorney who takes over usually make arrangements so that the first attorney is paid at the time that the case ends. The client does not pay double, rather the attorneys divide one total fee.

I suggest that you have a meeting with the attorney and discuss your concerns.