Q: I am a plaintiff in a personal injury case. Defendant filed a Summary Judgement which was denied.
This is a personal injury slip and fall case. Defendant is not interested in mediation and has filed a 998 with the offer for me to dismiss the lawsuit and waive all cost. My court date is 3 months away. Now my attorney says they might be interested in offering me a small nuisance settlement. I feel insulted since I fractured my knee, had 4 surgeries and one year of twice weekly rehab visits. I also went for an evaluation with the doctor appointed by the insurance company and his recommendation was that I needed additional surgery. iMy attorney seems to want to throw in the towel and I feel like something is going on behind my back. Is it to late to find another attorney to take my case to trial?
A: Something doesn't sound right here. Is this a disputed liability case? How did you fracture your knee. Do you have a trial date yet? It may not be too late to substitute another attorney, but it depends on how close to trial you are or whether you will be able to get a continuance.
Tim Akpinar agrees with this answer
A:
more info needed.
the issue is not JUST injuries but rather liability.
if the other party is not 100% at fault they may not be responsible for any or all or your med bills.
with a 998 if you don't prevail you could be held financially responsible for all their costs.
i would listen to my lawyer who has ALL the FACTS in front of him/her.
Tim Akpinar agrees with this answer
A:
It could be a tight timeframe within which to find another attorney if a request for continuance is denied. One would have to see your file to comment more meaningfully. I agree with Mr. Smith and Mr. Gribow about the valid point they raise on liability. It sounds like you have serious injuries warranting four surgeries - but one could speculate here that a possibility is that your attorney has reservations regarding liability - and that is only a reasonable guess without seeing the file. Compounding the tight timeframe is that fact that the case might not be appealing to an incoming attorney because your attorney appears to have done significant work - he put the case into suit, he filed note of issue to get on the trial calendar, and presumably did considerable discovery (possibly depositions?). This does not appear to be a case that an attorney fumbled around with for a week or two. That could mean an imposing lien for an incoming attorney. Good luck
Tim Akpinar
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