Legal Question in Personal Injury in Massachusetts

Re: does attorney get pecentage of medical bills

Personal Injury claims often take more than a year to settle. First thing is your attorney will often want to make sure she has all of your reports and to make sure there are no future medical procedures required.

The percentage your attorney takes depends on what was negotiated between the two of you at the time you retained her.

You can always change attorneys and often times it does not effect your case. But, your current attorney might attach a lien with the insurance company which means she will get paid what is owed her for the time she put into the file or the new attorney would have to negotiate with her the amount she receives.

I suggest you try to talk with your attorney and explain to her your concerns before attempting to take the file elsewhere. It might help alleviate the situation.

Re: does attorney get pecentage of medical bills

Those are excellent questions. I suggest you speak with your attorney about these issues. You are free to change your attorney. If you change your attorney , typically the new attorney and the old attorney work out a deal to divide the 33% fee based on the value of the services performed by the old attorney and the costs expended by the old attorney. ( however the two attorneys combined are not entitled to more than 33 percent and the old attorney only gets paid if you prevail in the case.)

If the fee agreement adresses whether the 33 percent comes before or after the payment of medical bills then the fee agreement controls. If the matter is not adressed in the fee agreement then issue is much murkier. Please feel free to call me.

David Slepkow

401-437-1100

Re: does attorney get pecentage of medical bills

1. I am not sure what you mean by protocal. You should have a better understanding of what's going on in your case. 2. Check your fee agreement - in most cases, the contingency applies to the gross amounts recovered - before expenses are paid. 3. Yes, you can fire your lawyer and get a new one. I can't determine whether it would hurt your case without knowing more about the facts and the precise status of your case.

Re: does attorney get pecentage of medical bills

You can go to the smalls claims court and the clerk will help you sort this out.

Re: does attorney get pecentage of medical bills

There is no protocol. There are certain time limits depending on who is involved. There is usually a pre-filing collection of data, assessment of the case, valuation of the case, and a letter of demand. There is also a time when a complaint should or ought to be filed, and certain actions that need to be taken thereafter.

As far as percentages, that is a negotiable issue between you and your attorney.

If you can get a new attorney, the old attorney may have a lien on the amount of work/time spent on you case, including any expenses.