Posted by unexperienced needs help on 2/28/05

More | Report Post

Sorry for the long post, but I want to try to give as much
info. to help get accurate advice/feedback.

In Aug. 2003, I was in a car accident where the other party
ran a red light and I broad-sided them. There are 3 eye
witnesses, including a resident doctor that was in the car
right behind me. All are listed on the police report
stating they saw the other party (an elderly woman) run the
light right in front of me. As a result, I had multiple
fractures in my right arm with nerve damage( I'm right
handed for writing), neck and lower back injuries I am
still being treated for.

I tried to work directly with the other party's insurance,
however their insurance denied fault and wouldn't pay for
my treatment/car, so I got an attorney. He said we were
going to wait until all medical treatment was done before
he filed suit but that he would talk with all the witnesses
and get recorded statements on file. Nine months after I
hired this attorney, I called his office to do my monthly
check-in on treatment and/or update any new information
regarding my injuries from the doctors. When I called, they
said he wasn't available and said a different attorney
would be taking my case, and the other attorney wasn't
available. For 8 weeks I called and left messages and this
attorney avoided my calls. Finally he scheduled to see me
the following week, but then called one hour before we were
to meet only to tell me that he had too many client
meetings scheduled and would have to cancel with me. At
this point, I decided to fire this firm and take on a new
attorney.

So, with my wreck being one year old, I hired the current
attorney I have now. This is when I discovered that
recorded statements had never been done by the first
attorney. During my initial meeting with my current
attorney, I expressed my concern with getting a suit filed,
getting the recorded statements of the witnesses, and that
I wanted to be copied on any documentation regarding my
case. He filed suit, but the defendant couldn't be served
cause she couldn't be found. He hired a legal
investigative service to do this and I have had to call him
every 6 to 8 weeks to follow up with him because I can't
seem to get him to call me. He doesn't ever follow up with
legal investigative -he just got the defendant served last
week (8 months out), and he still hasn't gotten Legal
Investigative to do the recorded statements of the
witnesses. It is going on the 2-year anniversary and I
feel like I am micro-managing something I shouldn't have
to. If he is going to get 40% of my money, then why
doesn't he proactively followup on things instead of
waiting for me to call and ask what the update is from
Legal Investigative -his response is always the same...."I
haven't talked to them in about 45 days". Then when he says
he will follow up with them and get back to me....I give
him another 4 weeks and he still hasn't called me so I call
him again. He gives me excuses as why things haven't
gotten done (he's been on vacation; the investigator at
Legal Investigative has been in a hyperbaric chamber due to
a scuba accident; when I tell him I'm concerned about the
lack of follow-through on the case, he says he hadn't
called Legal Investigative in almost 4 months to see if
they have done anything on the witness statements -his
statement to me was that he hasn't ever had to follow-up
with them, they just have always done their job.)

While all of this has gone on, my insurance company went
into arbitration with the guilty party's insurance, and the
guilty party's insurance admitted guilt and reimbursed my
insurance company for the extensive bill to repair my car.

Should I/we now be trying to talk to that party's insurance
company about paying for all of my medical bills and other
damages (lost wages, etc.). since they admitted
responsibility for the damages to my car? I just don't
understand why I am going to give 40% of my money to
someone that isn't earning it. I can't seem to find anyone
that is willing to represent me and earn that 40%, and I
now have 2 attorney's that will submit partial bills to me
for work done when I feel I haven't gotten very far at all.
I regularly monitor my case's progress through casenet with
our local judicial system online, so I can see what is
being filed. Do I have a right to ask to call this Legal
Investigative Services myself to get an update? I feel I
am getting the run around from my attorney and don't
honestly know the status on what has been done and what
hasn't.

Re: Is my attorney doing things in a timely manner?, 2/28/05, by Curmudgeon.

Torts Chatboard

LATEST POSTS | BY TOPICS | SUBMIT A POST