Auto Insurance Claims: pedestrian hit, argie, statute of limitations

Question
4 yrs ago I got hit by a car that was backing up walking with my 2yr old daughter she was not hit,but I was. due to the accident got physical therapy but was told that the pain from neck to lower pain is due to se several disks coming out due to the accident. Got a lawyer got a offer  a month ago which I think is not enough. who long do I have to ok the offer and can I get another lawyer? my lawyer told me he will not go to court and that is the offer that he could get and that is it and that also the person that hit me is now denying she hit me  there was a police report which  my lawyer said that by law he does not have access to ( which he knows I have). a week ago I found out that the place were I got hit has cameras outside but not sure if they are new on have allways been there.  thank you for  taking the time to read this.

Answer
Argie,

There is no time limit on your acceptance or rejection of the offer.  However, there is a limit on how long you have to sue.  In NY it's typically 3 years but it's different in other states.  If you don't sue within the statute of limitations then you can not recover from the person who hit you.  Do you know if your lawyer has started a lawsuit?  My guess from your information is that he hasn't which means you may have missed your time to file suit.

I would ask him specifically about the "statute of limitations" in your state and whether he has filed suit on your behalf.  If he hasn't and your window of opportunity has closed down then you may have a claim for malpractice against the attorney.  That would be a very frightening conversation to most attorneys so you should realize that you are probably in a position of power if the above is true.

By the way, you can always get another lawyer but you should check to see if you can even still file a lawsuit.

Not having access to the police report is complete BS.  Every state permits access to police reports which are public information.  My guess is that your attorney hasn't done anything on your case except for writing a letter and making a few phone calls...

I hope I'm wrong but I hear this kind of story pretty frequently.

Anyone who tells you that the skill and diligence of your lawyer doesn't matter should read this post.

Best of luck.

Ernest Ferraro