by jnicewhite2003 » Mon Jun 15, 2009 04:35 pm
i have a serious question and really need help... I had an accident me and 4 children not fault. i went to a company for physical therpy and they advised I need a lawyer and a referral...Long story short my lawyer contacted me with a settlement of about 21000 and advised I would only get 2000 and he is not giving me the break down of the number and why I am getting such a small amount...I told him i would not accept that amount and he came back with another number 4000..because he got the therpist to drop the medical bills...I really feel like something shady is going on...please advise if the medical is coming out of the settlement and if I pay the lawyer 33 1/3 how I am getting such a low number...he stated that the medical was dropped to 10000.00
Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 07:12 pm Post Subject:
No need to start a new thread but I have the answer to your problems in the form of your own post:
i went to a company for physical therpy and they advised I need a lawyer and a referral
I really feel like something shady is going on[/quote]Um.... was your first clue not that a physical therapist was recommending an attorney for you? :roll: Naw, that's not shady at all.First, your paying _your_ attorney about $7000 to answer these questions for you. It might just be me but if I'm paying someone about $1000 an hour I'd think they should answer a few of my questions.
From your prior post I was under the impression that your health carrier paid these medical bills already. Otherwise i would have mentioned that outstanding medical bills can/should be reduced.
If the offer is $21,000, then 33 1/3% plus expenses go to your attorney. The medical bills are then paid and then you get what is left over.
$21,000 settlement
-$7800.00 attorney
--------------
$13,200
-$10,000 med bill
---------------
$3,200
This is close to your $4000.
In those attorney commercial you don't ever heard them mention the 33% plus expenses that they earn, do you? It's a _huge_ chunk of change.
Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 04:17 am Post Subject:
Janice, I'm just curious... where did you get your attorney from? Did the therapist also refer him to you?
Now, a therapist isn't a person to suggest whether or not you need an atty to settle your claim. An attorney should always be your last resort. Have you at all approached to the other insurer personally to settle the claim?
Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 04:39 am Post Subject:
Have you at all approached to the other insurer personally to settle the claim?
The agreement with the attorney won't allow this. Nor will the attorney allow the other carrier to speak directly to the OP.Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 05:42 am Post Subject:
Well Janice,
After going through tcope's breakage I'm only left to ask you one simple question-
How much did you wish to receive in the end?
Please justify your expectation with your breakage of the same. Then perhaps I'd be able to understand if the settlement worth 21,000 was acceptable in the first place or not...am I right!
Steven
Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 10:21 am Post Subject:
The agreement with the attorney won't allow this. Nor will the attorney allow the other carrier to speak directly to the OP.
Yeah, that's true but I was wondering whether she had at all taken any initiative to settle with the insurance company before hiring the attorney. Apparently she didn't. :(
May be she would clarify since we don't know under what circumstances she had hired the lawyer.
Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 01:18 pm Post Subject:
No I didnt try to settle with them... the therpist suggested I needed an attorney...they did the referral and brought all the paper work to me...
Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 09:04 am Post Subject:
That's sounds shady, Janice. I wonder if they are running a referral system behind this. Didn't it occur to you that a therapist isn't the person to suggest whether or not you need attorney for the settlement?
Now, have you conveyed to your atty that you are not satisfied with the settlement offer since its hardly compensating you. Also, have you taken Tcop's advice to demand explanation from the atty?
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