Attorney settled case but took his cut off the top totaling $10,000. The leftover of $12,000 barely covered my medical bills leaving me with $915. Attorney advised me that I did not have to pay the bills but 2 of the bills I had a legal agreement with stating that they would be paid upon settlement. One of those actually put a lein on me. Should those have been taken off the total settlement before attorney took his percentage? The fact that he made more than I did when he was only supposed to make 40% just doesn't seem right.
Technically under the contract the attorney probably can do this. However, what's the right thing to do is a different story. Your attorney shouldn't settle your case without your permission. Also, the attorney should try to negotiate outstanding medical bills to increase your recovery. Since you aren't okay with distribution of funds then ask your attorney to explain how this settlement was worked out. If you still aren't satisfied you can contact the State Bar of Texas.
Manuel Alzamora JuarezCar / Auto Accident LawyerBerkeley, CA ·
Every state is different and the laws are all convoluted. In California, I had a case similar to yours, $15k-$30 k recovery. Med bills exceeded $15k. I researched the defendant and she was drier than a turnip, so I accepted the $15k on my client's behalf. However, prior to settling, I called all the medical providers and told them exactly what was happening and told them that it was my policy in these type if cases to divide the pie in three portions,. One for me plus my litigation costs and the other two portion equally between the client and the medical providers. I did an allocation based on the percentage of the medical bills of each provider to the total medicals and offered each provider its respective share of moneys allocated to pay med bills. My client got $5k. Like I said, each state is different. Talk to your lawyer and have him explain how he did his settlement allocation and be mindful of the different laws. Best of luck.
The above answers are all good, but there's something else to consider: the tort system is not actually designed to make sure that you make money on the deal. It's designed to make you as close as possible to your condition before the accident. The mere fact that you were the victim of someone else's negligence does not automatically entitle you to a payday, just to compensation for damages. So if you wind up with all of your medical bills paid and a little left over, that's not a terrible result.
Attorneys should put their client's interest ahead of their own. I would talk frankly with your attorney about your displeasure. If that doesn't resolve it, the State Bar has a fee dispute resolution procedure you can go through. Contact them if talking to your attorney doesn't work.
Henry Moore, Attorney
Board Certified, Personal Injury Trial Law
316 W. 12th, #318
Austin, Texas 78701
512-477-1663
512-476-6212 fax
[email protected]
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I do not know the facts of the case but there are a couple of things that could have been done to assist you possibly putting more money in your pocket. First, the attorney could have voluntarily offered to reduce his fee so that you recovered more money. Second, he could have attempted to obtain reductions from the medical providers based on the total amount of settlement. In the event you had health insurance, then he should have attempted to obtain a reduction of the subrogation interest (the interest the health insurance has for paying medical bills) so that you could receive more money. As others have suggested, please review your contract with the attorney and I also encourage you to contact him about how the medical bill/subrogation issue was handled. I find that most attorneys are willing to reduce their fee to help their clients obtain a better recovery. Good luck.
I like Mr. Jaurez's answer the best and I would try to do what he did. In fact since I charge only 25% for car accident cases where the police blames the other side, I often do a split: 25% to me, 1/3 to the lien holders and the rest to the client.
Naturally, not all lien holders are cooperative. But many good PI lawyers would not take $10,000 fee if the client was left with only $915. However, ethics rules do not require that in a PI case the lawyer reduce his fee if there otherwise wouldn't be much for the client.
First, the attorney is only permitted to charge the fee in the contract. However, the attorney may have expended thousands of dollars on costs and expenses which are over and above the attorney's fee. These are costs and expenses that go to other people, not the attorney. Your attorney should have outlined exactly what would go into your pocket at settlement. If you disagreed with the amount, you could have insisted that he continue your case to trial. If you have a dispute, you should contact the attorney and express your displeasure.
