Legal Question in Personal Injury in Maryland

Re: Is an attorney intitled to a part of your pip coverage

As a personal injury attorney for 28 years, I can tell you that my practice has been never to charge a client for recovering PIP benefits, except in rare circumstances where there has been some difficulty obtaining payment from the PIP carrier, necessitating an inordinate amount of time on my part to obtain those benefits. PIP benefits are not subject to repayment under any circumstances, so what you recover from the third-party carrier (for the at-fault vehicle) is yours to keep, less your legal fees and expenses. If you signed an "assignment and authorization" agreement with your medical providers, your attorney is obligated to use the PIP benefits to pay those bills, and also to pay any balances that exceed the PIP benefits from your settlement with the other insurance. Otherwise, you have the right to get your PIP from the attorney if he has it.

Re: Is an attorney intitled to a part of your pip coverage

I concur completely w/ Mr. Sher. In fact, while I don't know if the MD bar/courts have spoken on the issue, the VA bar has issued a binding Legal Ethics Opinion that holds that a lawyer cannot ethically charge a contingent fee on PIP benefits unless there is a genuine dispute as to entitlement that requires significant legal work and risk. Otherwise, all that a lawyer can charge is a modest administrative fee (flat fee or hourly) for the work necessary to apply for and recover the benefits. I would expect the MD courts/bar to take the same position. Note that, as Mr. Sher said, if there is an assignment of the benefits to medical providers, while the atty. cannot take a contingent fee on the money, s/he can and in fact must hold the money and pay it over to the providers who are entitled to it.