Legal Question in Personal Injury in Illinois

I am sorry to read about how this is being handled. I do not understand the math concerning your son, or why he wont return calls. Clearly, you have lost trust and faith in him. You have an absolute right to terminate your lawyer at anytime prior to settlement. If you hire another lawyer there is a procedure that is followed regarding the fee that protects you from paying double. I cannot recomend that you represent yourself against State Farm. They have employees who are trained to negotiate and to strike the best deal for State Farm, not for the injured victim.

That being said, legal claims can take a long time, even after a release from medical care. There may be a reason why the attorney has not sent a final demand to the carrier, however, without knowing more about your case I cannot comment on your specific situation and any reasons for delay. You may feel free to contact me if you wish.

First-you can fire your attorney at any time for any reason. However, the attorney will be entitled to a fee for the work he has done so far. So the answer is Yes but there are things to consider.

Two-In the past surveys, State Farm has come up near the top of the line for being the worst insurance company when it comes time to settle claims see here (http://law.freeadvice.com/insurance_law/insurers_bad_faith/ten-worst-insurance-companies.htm). So, the fact that State Farm has not made an offer to settle your case is nothing to be surprised from. Your attorney has no control over what State Farm does and so a case cannot be over if the insurance company won't put any money on the table.

Three-Your attorney has to provide you with reasonable information about the status of your case within reasonable time intervals. If you call him every week to ask him status, I am not surprised he stopped taking your calls. If you call every three months and he is not returning your call, then something is wrong. If that is the case, make an appointment with him and go see him and ask for the status of your case. Write down all your questions and ask them and make sure you get an answer. If you do not understand the answer, ask for clarification. If he does not give you an appointment, write him a letter asking for detailed information about your case. Send the letter certified mail with return receipt. Give him two weeks to comply.

Four-It is always easy to think that the attorney is not doing anything since you do not see the day to day activity of the attorney on your case. Further, things generally move very slowly as a matter of course.

Five-If you have more questions, call my office, I will be more than happy to assist you further.

I hope this helps-

I agree with what the other attorneys have stated and will not reiterate all of them here. I will add that if you have lost faith in your attorney, then you should: a) first try to speak with your attorney regarding your concerns; and, b) if that fails (as it appears he is not returning your calls), you have every right to terminate his services and retain a firm you are comfortable with.

My firm has handled catastrophic injury cases in state and federal courts. If you would like to call to discuss, I'd be happy to speak with you.

Kelly Q. Bennett