Legal Question in Personal Injury in Massachusetts
Out of pocket expense
Last year my daughter recieved a settlement for an injury
she was 13 when the injury occured so my name was listed as Mother of minor child. the case took 5 years to settle,at settlement time my daughter was 18.
I paid for everything, depositions,copies of medical reports, etc.
The Attorney did not pay for anything pertaing to this case.
I had over $2,000 in expenses paid out for this case.
Shouldn't I have recieved this ''out of pocket'' money back
before the Atty. took his money?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Out of pocket expense
There is no should.
It depends entirely on the agreement.
Re: Out of pocket expense
Most contingent fee agreements provide that the attorney will recieve 1/3 of the gross amount collect. If an attorney collects 10,000, his fee will be $3,333.33. If a client had paid an attorney $2,000 in expenses for the benefit of her minor daughter under these circumstances, the mother should receive $2,000 of the expenses as cost re-imbursement out of her daughter's settlement. On the other hand, it is possible that the fee agreement only provided that the attorney collect 1/3 of the net. It would be an unwise attorney to have such an agreement unless the client insisted on as much up front. If the agreement does not specify gross or net, it is debatable whether the attorney receives 1/3 of the gross. It might depend on how the agreement is worded. If it is ambiguous, there is an argument that the agreement should be constued against the attorney, since presumably the attorney drafted the agreement. Usually, ambiguous terms of a contract are construed against the drafter of the contract by courts.
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