Thank you in advance for your help.:) I was in a no fault of mine. Car accident California South Bay area. I got a lawyer for help right away. They have not helped me in finding a doctor or even going to physical therapy. I have neurological damages. I was lifted out of the car and taken to the hospital.:(

I walk and every step I take is painful. I use a wheelchair at any and every store that has them. My marriage is suffering because of this.:eek: I can barely cook anything now. We have been eating out a lot. My husband does not come home until late and can not wait that long to cook the food for my children. It is a nightmare. I still have whiplash and just started driving my self around but cannot go on long car rides I am the one that has to drive. My medical and my car insurance do not pay for car accidental injuries. According to my lawyer I go to the doctor and pay the fees then after the settlement they reimburse me for that. I do not have 20,000 dollars nor do I have the ability to pay for the x-rays they take. I have to get neurological testing and I can not afford to pay them.

Shouldn't' my lawyer be helping me find a doctor that works on consignment with the lawyer.:mad: Along with physical therapy. I am in so much pain. How do I get a new lawyer for this. And as well who if any lawyer will come to the house if needed. The lawyer I have now keeps contacting the same doctor to the point that they are charging me fees for information they already have. I called them and told them it was unnecessary to keep contacting the same doctor.
How do I get a new lawyer that has the things I need. A doctor, physical therapy. Then pay them after this is over. I will be suffering a life time of pain. Do I still owe thi lawyer any money if I do get a new one?:confused:

(I as it looks will never walk the same. I had to even cut my hair because the weight of my hair on my shoulders hurts. The lawyer secretary called and asked when are you going to be done they want this to be done..Well excuse me.. I am not done. I am in pain I am going to the doctors as fast as I can and can only go when appointments are open):(

What do I do here please help. I live in what seems to be still a small town. But certainly with out a doubt have barbaric help.

Is it to late to change lawyers? Can I change lawyers? Do I owe them anything if I do not want the lawyer I have now? Shouldn't they (the lawyer be helping me more then they are). I was told to get receipts for the food I need to buy because I can not cook this was by the father of the lawyer(his son owes the firm) but when some lawyer did finally give me a few moments of their time. He said that I didn't need to do that they do not cover that.. Well I am out so much money due to this accident. I am a stay at home mom and I do work doing my sells at an undisclosed location. But I have to stop and we are suffering financially. My marriage is suffering my daughter is suffering. I can no longer play or run with her.. I am so frustrated sorry for the rant. Please if you can find the questions here please help.

Hello S:

You can fire your lawyer any time you like. You probably WILL owe him something. I know it wasn't worth it, but you did a lousy job of lawyer shopping.

Next time, DO better. Ask the new lawyer the very questions you ask here.

excon

I did ask the lawer these questions they said they would find me a doctor. But when it was time for the help. They said they do not do that.. The person that signed me up was more help then the laywers office. The father of the laywers firm came and signed me up. He told me they would help me find a doctor and everything els I need. Everything he told me they woud do.. they haven't.. I need to know of any good ones in this area..

Hello again, S:

The best way find a good lawyer is to GO SHOPPING. Visit LOTS. Spend a few days. Get on the phone. Get on the internet. Open the yellow pages. Press one of the buttons for lawyers on THIS page. Talk to the LAWYER, not his salesperson.

All the things you DIDN'T do when you wound up with this jerk, DON'T DO them again.

If your present lawyer lied to you, don't pay him. Make him sue you and PROVE that he earned his money and did what he said he was going to do.

excon

Thanks

Never just "sign up" with any attorney who visits you at home. Not a good idea ever. Any good personal injury attorney would have helped you get your medical bills paid for prior to settlement. Am surprised that your medical and auto insurance does not cover these bills. It should. Shop around for another attorney NOW before you can't get around. You deserve better than that bunch of baloney artists for sure.
It will be hard now to get another personal injury attorney interested in your case though as most attorneys don't like to "clean up" the mess that the other attorney made. It is worth trying to get rid of them and get another attorney. Re-read any contract that you have with the first attorney and take that with you when you meet with a new attorney.

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Originally Posted by Sadeyes

[F]Thank you in advance for your help.:) I was in a no fault of mine. Car accident California South Bay area. I got a lawyer for help right away. They have not helped me in finding a doctor or even going to physical therapy. I have neurological damages. I was lifted out of the car and taken to the hospital.:(

I walk and every step I take is painful. I use a wheelchair at any and every store that has them. My marriage is suffering because of this.:eek: I can barely cook anything now. We have been eating out a lot. My husband does not come home until late and can not wait that long to cook the food for my children. It is a nightmare. I still have whiplash and just started driving my self around but cannot go on long car rides I am the one that has to drive. My medical and my car insurance do not pay for car accidental injuries. According to my lawyer I go to the doctor and pay the fees then after the settlement they reimburse me for that. I do not have 20,000 dollars nor do I have the ability to pay for the x-rays they take. I have to get neurological testing and I can not afford to pay them.

Shouldn't' my lawyer be helping me find a doctor that works on consignment with the lawyer.:mad: Along with physical therapy. I am in so much pain. How do I get a new lawyer for this. And as well who if any lawyer will come to the house if needed. The lawyer I have now keeps contacting the same doctor to the point that they are charging me fees for information they already have. I called them and told them it was unnecessary to keep contacting the same doctor.
How do I get a new lawyer that has the things I need. A doctor, physical therapy. Then pay them after this is over. I will be suffering a life time of pain. Do I still owe thi lawyer any money if I do get a new one?:confused:

(I as it looks will never walk the same. I had to even cut my hair because the weight of my hair on my shoulders hurts. The lawyer secretary called and asked when are you going to be done they want this to be done..Well excuse me.. I am not done. I am in pain I am going to the doctors as fast as I can and can only go when appointments are open):(

What do I do here please help. I live in what seems to be still a small town. But certainly with out a doubt have barbaric help.

Is it to late to change lawyers? Can I change lawyers? Do I owe them anything if I do not want the lawyer I have now? Shouldn't they (the lawyer be helping me more then they are). I was told to get receipts for the food I need to buy because I can not cook this was by the father of the lawyer(his son owes the firm) but when some lawyer did finally give me a few moments of their time. He said that I didn't need to do that they do not cover that.. Well I am out so much money due to this accident. I am a stay at home mom and I do work doing my sells at an undisclosed location. But I have to stop and we are suffering financially. My marriage is suffering my daughter is suffering. I can no longer play or run with her.. I am so frustrated sorry for the rant. Please if you can find the questions here please help.

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California is a fault-based State - your medical bills are (in theory) paid in proportion to your responsibility for the accident. Do you know why you are being held partially responsible for the accident?

The Attorney has no responsibility to locate Doctors for you or help you in going to Physical Therapy. Attorneys also cannot legally work "on consignment" with a Physician - or Physical Therapist, which you also ask about. There would be every reason for the Physician/PT to continued your treatment forever, drive up the medical bills, enable the Attorney to sue for more money.

Unfortunately that is how insurance in California works - you pay your bills (proportionate to your fault) and if you win the lawsuit that money is returned to you separate from the pain/suffering award.

You can always attempt to change Attorneys - in NYS the two firms (the old and the new) "usually" split the contingency. If it's a complicated case another law firm is not going to want to step in when they know they will only collect half of their usual fee when the case settles. That doesn't mean someone isn't out there and will take it - it only means it will be more difficult to find someone.

I don't know what other help you want from the Attorneys - if you are dissatisfied with their handling of your case I would DEMAND an office visit and go in, talk to them, see what the problem is, tell them what you expect them to do, see what they are willing to do. As far as coming to your house - that always makes me nervous but I have seen very good Attorneys willing to do that if there is no possible way for the client to go to the office. However, it does appear that you are able to drive so I don't know what another Attorney would agree to do.

On occasion, following the Attorney's telephone conference with the potential client, I have driven the retainer agreement to the client and witnessed its signing - don't do it often but I have done it as part of the investigation.

Your retainer agreement should also clearly state the terms of your agreement with the Attorney, what they will and won't do. Who is paying the expenses of the investigation of the accident - copies of Police Report, investigative work, etc.

Is your current Attorney some who specializes in personal liability? And I don't understand why the law firm would call you to see if you're finished with treatment - they should be getting that information from your medical reports.

Judy - Did not know about California injury laws. What an eye opener that info is. Remind me never to live in California or have a car accident there. Eeeeow are they ever the complete opposite of Florida and Ohio injury laws by a mile.

Any time a lawyer does not diligently pursue a case, they can be sued. I think California law requires each lawyer to properly represent their clients. I would attempt to find a competent personal injury firm, explain the situation at the initial sit down. Most work on contingency and the fired lawyer might not be able to recover any fees from you. You definitely should see another lawyer to find out. It sounds like you may have a case worth pursuing that an law firm would like to have.

As a note, every personal injury lawyer and workman's compensation lawyer I have ever heard of has a long list of medical doctors and specialists that are available to run tests and make determinations as to the extent of your injuries.

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Originally Posted by twinkiedooter

Judy - Did not know about California injury laws. What an eye opener that info is. Remind me never to live in California or have a car accident there. Eeeeow are they ever the complete opposite of Florida and Ohio injury laws by a mile.

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I just can't believe all the States haven't gone to no-fault, if for no other reason than to cut down the Courts' loads.

Of course, half the World says no-fault does just that; the other half says it doesn't work and the time constraints are killers.

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Originally Posted by westnlas

Any time a lawyer does not diligently pursue a case, they can be sued. I think California law requires each lawyer to properly represent their clients. I would attempt to find a competent personal injury firm, explain the situation at the initial sit down. Most work on contingency and the fired lawyer might not be able to recover any fees from you. You definitely should see another lawyer to find out. It sounds like you may have a case worth pursuing that an law firm would like to have.

As a note, every personal injury lawyer and workman's compensation lawyer I have ever heard of has a long list of medical doctors and specialists that are available to run tests and make determinations as to the extent of your injuries.

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You missed the most important part - the insurance company for whatever reason is finding the OP partially at fault for the accident. That's why the medical bills are unpaid. The Attorney most definitely does NOT control the insurance company. It appears that this will have to be litigated.

If there was a retainer and if there ever is a settlement, the original Attorney is entitled to a percentage unless he signs off - and it sounds like the original Attorney has worked on the case and is not going to sign off.

I have never seen an Attorney provide a list of recommended Physicians or health care professionals, particularly those who will work on "consignment." I think it's unethical and would put the whole question of damages into a totally different light.

Not pursuing a matter/not being diligent and not keeping the client happy are two different things. You will note that OP appears to want "help" locating physicians, negotiating payment to the physicians, finding a Doctor to work on "consignment" (I would assume she means on contingency, which is also illegal); as well as some sort of help in getting to appointments and she doesn't know why she has to pay for medical reports.

A real good way to have absolutely no legal representation is to go to a second Attorney asking about malpractice on the part of the first Attorney when the case is still open. That first Attorney can very well walk away and still have a lien on the file. If there is a malpractice here, I'm not seeing it.

I think OP has to come back with more specific info -