Legal Question in Personal Injury in New York
Personal Injury case where attry has advised not getting advised treatment
I had an accident 5//05, in NYC. I contacted a lawyers on the internet and he sent me to 2 doctors he got from the yellow pages. Treatment w chiropractor went fine, but the ortho surgeon suggested surgery, but lawyer advised me to not do that, b/c it could ''eat up my settlement'' and he wanted to settle the case quickly. This sounds very hincky to me. Even though I agreed, the case hasn't been rapped up and the atty claims the problem is that the insurance company will not commit an adjuster to the case and he can't settle until they do.
This doesn't sound right to me, please advise
5 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Personal Injury case where attry has advised not getting advised treatment
This does not sound right. First of all, I am a big believer in doing what is right for your body and letting the PI case come second. Thus, if your doctor thinks you need surgery, you should give that serious consideration regardless of the PI case. Second, if you have insurance, or this was a car accident, the surgery should be paid for. If you do not have insurance, it may be you lawyer was worried that you would have to sign a lien for the doctor to perform the surgery and that would cut into your settlement. This would not concern me because the surgery would likely get you a settlement worth much more than the surgery costs. I handles accident cases all the time so feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss your case.
Re: Personal Injury case where attry has advised not getting advised treatment
This is more complicated than it seems .
Pleasee feel free to email me directly or call me at 8458782163 for a free consult.
Good Luck
RRG
Re: Personal Injury case where attry has advised not getting advised treatment
While there may be sound reasons to delay outlays of expenditures if a quick settlement is eyed or reasonable, the actions you describe sound suspect. It may be time to consult someone else.
Should you like to discuss this or any other legal matter, you can e-mail me for more information about low cost face-to-face, on-line, or a telephone consultation with a lawyer in our office.
Re: Personal Injury case where attry has advised not getting advised treatment
From your question I can't tell whether your case is in suit yet, but I do know, based upon over twenty years of litigation experience, that generally insurance companies are not eager to settle cases early unless they settle out cheap. They try to hold on to their money as long as possible. If you have started a lawsuit, you should have your attorney push the case forward, demanding timely discovery. If it is not in suit, you should start one immediately if it is clear that the insurance company is just wasting time. With respect to the recommendation of surgery, you need to make sure that you take care of your health. I'm not sure what your attorney means when he says it will "eat up" your settlement. Usually surgery increases the "value" of a case. In any event, in terms of medical treatment, you should, quite frankly, be listening to your doctor and not your lawyer. I hope this helps. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me.
Re: Since when do attorneys give medical advice?
This sounds like you may have misunderstood or are not explaining something correctly. Was your accident a car accident? If so your medical bills are paid by no fault; but regardless, since when do you let an attorney advise you on medical treatment?
I don't know what your injury is: sounds like a back or neck injury, possibly a knee injury. It is more important to take care of your health than to pin your hopes on a settlement. The attorney referred you to doctors who he may have chosen simply because they will testify in court; maybe they are good physicians as well, but get a second opinion.
Anyway, surgery generally increases the settlment value of a case, not the other way around.