Legal Question in Personal Injury in Massachusetts

You have the right to leave your attorney if you are not satisfied. He will likely place a lien on the settlement for the work he has performed to date. If your attorney does not contact you soon, you may have no choice but to find another attorney because you do not want to miss the statute of limitations.

I agree with Attorney Lamy that you should fire your attorney if you are not satisfied. I am licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and located in the South End of Boston. Please feel free to contact my office if you would like to schedule a consultation. I can request the file be transferred from your current attorney to my office. Assuming your son has completed treatment, there is no reason not to file suit.

The suggestion to wait about a year because of the scarring is good advice. It takes about that long for scarring to reach its final appearance, so you know what you are trying to put a "price" on for settlemet purposes. Where the scar is on the face, this is especially important.

The lack of return calls or response is definitely a concern. It is not that unusual for a lawyer to be unable to call back or respond right away on occassion--we tend to be pretty busy--but you seem to be saying that your lawyer's lack of responsiveness is much more than that. I'm not as quick as others in suggesting you change lawyers; I think it is a good idea to try to "mend fences" when you can. Then again, once you have lost trust in your current lawyer to the point of posting a question on a public board like this, your relationship with that lawyer might not be worth saving. Only you (or your son, actually, if he is 18 or older) can make that decision.

Regarding your lawyer possibly asserting a lien against your case for the work he has done to date, Massachusetts law only gives an attorney a lien on a client's case if a lawsuit has been filed, which I assume from your question has not yet happened. Short of that, your fee agreement with the lawyer might specify his right to be paid in the event you terminate his services. In any event, clients changing lawyers is not all that uncommon, and your new lawyer will resolve any issues over attorneys fees. Changing lawyers does NOT increase the total of attorneys fees you pay--it just means your new lawyer might have to share any fee with the prior lawyer based on each lawyr's contribution to the end result. Again, something you need not worry about.

Change lawyers. Find someone who will be more responsive.

You may want to be a little more patient with present attorney. You picked him for a reasons, would be a shame to shop the case to other lawyers because he did not call you back immediately. What was said above that you won't pay more if you switch lawyers is true, but the new lawyer you bring on board will be working for less. When you work for less than your normal rate do you work harder? Just as hard? Less hard? Think about it. You don't mention this but do you have a signed contract with the lawyer? If your son is a minor, what is the hurry unless he has reached a medical end result. Everyone wants to feel they are being paid attention to but see if this is a problem with the lawyer that can be overcome rather than switching lawyers like you switch your socks. If you did not take much care in selecting this lawyer a year ago, and this was a careless selection, then you should correct your mistake, otherwise understand law is not like McDonalds and you instantly get what you want. Part of the mindset is this is a slow moving process so why get too excited if you don't talk this week. Good luck with your son's case. Regards, JBS

I think that you have already received some excellent advice but I will give you my thoughts as well. First off, only you know how much effort you have put in trying to contact and get answers from your present lawyer and what the response has been. I am always cautious taking cases from clients who were unhappy with their previous attorney because I don't know what took place before the client came to me. Some client's expectations simply cannot be met. You do not sound like that but I would still encourage you to try to work things out with your first lawyer if you think they are capable of getting you good results. If however, you have already lost faith in their ability or desire to work your case, then it may be time to move on. Hiring a new attorney will not change the formula as to your percentage of the proceeds, You will still receive 2/3 and the lawyers will have to work out who gets the remaining 1/3.The first attorney may be entitled to some portion of the legal fees under some circumstances, It will not change the amount that you get, only how much the attorneys get.

If you are sure that you are unhappy with your first attorney and would like to conider my firm, then I would encourage you to read about me at my website and if I seem like the lawyer that you would feel comfortable with. If so, then please call and I would be happy to discuss your case and your options with you. In any event, I wish you sucess with your case. My website is www.lawworcester.com