Q: I need help with my injury case that was poorly mismanaged.
I was in a car accident in Feb 2018, and my settlement is coming to a close. My case was very poorly managed by my first case manager who no longer works at the law firm.
1.) My case was poorly managed to the point that it was negatively affected.
2.) My lawyer was absent from handling my case and managing his staff.
He has thousands of clients and said that he doesn't have enough time to talk with all his clients or his staff.
3.) This added stress dealing with this law firm is causing my injuries to flair up again and I will need additional physical therapy.
4.) My assessor lied about the lawyers fee's.
5.) My case manager will not speak to me and just wants me to sign the release of funds.
What options do I have?
Can I submit an ethics complaint, or renegotiate the settlement?
How do I make sure I get a copy of the contract and their fee's?
A:
It's not entirely clear to me if your case has been settled yet, or not. If it has already settled and all that is left to do is to agree to the language in the release and sign it - at that point it will be difficult, likely impossible, to renegotiate the settlement.
You can certainly complain to the State Bar's website, but you might have better luck trying to work things out with your attorney.
Some attorneys are willing to reduce their fee if a client is unhappy. You might consider mentioning everything that you just listed here to your attorney, and reiterate that you want to talk to your attorney before you sign the release.
The attorney might offer to reduce his fee. If he doesn't, you could bring it up. He should certainly provide you with the original fee agreement that you signed when you came on as a client, if you request that.
I hope this was helpful. Good luck.
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