QuestionIn August I was involved in an auto accident. I was at the chiropractor's office when an attorney's office sent a representative over to see me. He spoke with me and convinced me to let them handle my claim. I signed a contract with them. He told me they would handle my PIP as well (which I called my insurance company and they sent me the paperwork to file it) since the legal assistant told me they would handle it as a courtesy to me I turned the paperwork over to the law firm. When the law firm received the PIP check I went to pick it up and they advised me I would only get one third of it, they would get a third and the chiropractor would get a third. I was totally shocked as I could have handled this on my own however, since they had told me they would do it as a courtesy for me; I did not think they would get any of my PIP check. I then found out some other disturbing things on this firm and ended up firing them. I have never received any type of billing statement from the chiropractor and have no idea how much his services were.Since I refused to endorse the PIP check the law firm returned it to the insurance company. Yesterday their agent called me to advise me they were going to send the entire $2500.00 check to the chiropractor as the attorney has placed a lien on any of the monies to be rendered. My insurance company stated that my bill with the chiropractor came to $2800.00 which I can't figure out why it is so high because I know what they did and did not do for me. The other person involved in the accident was cited and their insurance company has only offered me $2900.00, so that means I would really come out on the losing end of the stick with this whole thing. I feel the chiropractor and the law firm are doing some under handed stuff.What can I do to get this lien lifted off of this case?
AnswerHi Bruce,
Dr. Settlement is an expert on personal injury attorney fees, and I think THIS STINKS! In all my years I NEVER EVER TOOK A FEE TO GET A PIP PAYMENT. We always did it GRATIS as part of the package of representation.
As a personal injury attorney fee expert Dr. Settlement stands for the injured client, and I will go the extra mile to see that this case turns out right for you. Hence, I am dedicating a lot of time to your case, AND you will likewise have to read a bit to get up to speed so as to get rid of the lien and to make a good insurance claim settlement.
I want you to send a follow-up to my private e-mail. Go to my site www.settlementcentral.com and click on the contact us button and in your message mention YOUR NAME and where we met, here on allexperts.com. I will tell the staff YOUR NAME so that they will send your message to me instead of junking it as spam. That way we can correspond until you get this thing handled in the right way.
Here are the FIVE things I want you to explore right now, so put these in your message to me.
#1. Tell how you picked this doctor; what advertising did he do? Did you ASK for the attorney, or did the chiropractor suggest the attorney? Who brought up the topic of the attorney and did the doctor offer a number of names or just arrange for this one to suddenly appear at your examination in his office? And was this on the very first visit? Did the doctor or his office manager make the introduction? What was said? Did they stay in the room when the attorney went over the contract with you? How long did the attorney take to go over the contract?
#2. Quote for me the fee language out of the agreement. Usually it will say one-third of the amount recovered. But I am looking for two things. First, does it say one-third of the GROSS amount recovered? Second, at the top of the agreement where it identifies what the contract is about, does the fee agreement mention your insurance company or your PIP at all, or does it simply specify the dispute is between you and the tortfeasor or involving the accident identified by date?
#3. If you and the attorney were going to take a third each, how did the attorney propose that the doctor would get paid since the PIP is to go for your medical bills? What did he say? DID HE TELL YOU THAT THE PIP WOULD HAVE TO BE REPAID TO YOUR OWN INSURER OUT OF THE THIRD PARTY (i.e. the tortfeasor) INSURANCE SETTLEMENT? Or maybe you are in a situation in which there is no subrogation.
In most states, that is what we call an insurance subrogation claim http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0459.htm on insurance settlements. Did the attorney tell you that your insurer is surely your insurer is part of the Nationwide Inter-Company Arbitration Agreement?
This is an arrangement where insurance companies settle automobile subrogation issues among themselves without the delays and expenses of litigation. All companies subject to this agreement bind themselves to submit disputed subrogation claims against another signatory company. What happens is that your company that paid the PIP now has filed a claim for the amount of the PIP with the tortfeasor’s insurer. Assuming your state allows subrogation, that will be like a lien and it will be paid to your company out of your insurance injury settlement. Did he discuss this with you at any time?
#4. Tell me about your accident, the impact, the damage, your injuries, your current situation, whether you will need continued treatment with another doctor. How much are your current medicals and do you have any additional medical bills unpaid?
#5. Did the attorney give you THE ENTIRE FILE, WITH ALL NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE? Look carefully to be sure everything was there. I will give you a letter to request everything if need be. I also ask for ALL ELECTRONIC RECORDS, INCLUDING ALL E-MAILS. Let me know if you need this letter.
Once I have answers to those five topics, I will respond with a strategy to get the lien cleared and to move forward to achieve good medical care and a good insurance settlement.
Part of the strategy might be to use both the state bar association and the state medical or chiropractic licensing authority. I am wondering if you ran into a set-up between the doctor and the attorney. If that is the case, then the insurance industry will have seen this relationship far too often and they might have concluded that your doctor was engaged in what they call a “claims factory”. Hence your doctor’s reports could be marked as suspect. If one could prove that, then the consequences would be a cause of action versus the doctor as well.
Of course I have no idea that anything wrong was happening with your doctor and attorney, but I just want to give you a word of caution about that topic of a “claims factory practice”. Usually here is how it works.
These doctors may be popular with a friend who turned a minor injury into a moderate insurance recovery by presenting hyped-up medical records. But these doctors are not engaged in real healing medicine, so much as they are in "working the system" to exact money for treatments and for their patients. They may tell you that you have a serious injury and they will write a report documenting severe and disabling injuries, but they are not giving you good medical treatment, and they are charlatans whose work is well known to the insurance adjusters. Because they are notorious among adjusters, their reports lack credibility, and if you rely on such work, you can expect the defense adjuster to call for you to undergo a so-called “Independent” Medical Examination (IME).
Again, no need to become alarmed, but if you see anything in this that sounds familiar, please include that in your message as well.
OK, here is why the attorney fees will be set aside. Your state bar association http://www.settlementcentral.com/links.php help injured clients with fee disputes. The state bar association has rules about attorney fees. They have to be earned by the work done.
Most people think that the bar association is there to protect lawyers, but in fact its main purpose is to ensure the integrity of the legal practice. Hence, you will surely find help there since they will have a means to arbitrate or mediate the fee. But in any event, just a note that you have gone to the state bar will likely free up the lien inasmuch as your attorney will NOT want to try to defend taking a fee on something a dog with a note in its mouth could accomplish. Hence, his fee will clearly not have been earned according to the following rule that will likely be in place in your state. It is called Rule 1.5 of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Here are parts of the rule, and your attorney will be bound by this.
RULE 1.5
FEES
(a) A lawyer shall not make an agreement for, charge, or collect an
unreasonable fee or an unreasonable amount for expenses. The factors to be considered in determining the reasonableness of a fee include the following:
(1) the time and labor required, the novelty and difficulty of the
questions involved, and the skill requisite to perform the legal service properly; DR. SETTLEMENT ATTORNEY COMMENT: THIS IS THE BIG ONE FOR YOUR ATTORNEY INASMUCH AS HE DID NOTHING AT ALL TO GET THE PIP PAID.
(3) the fee customarily charged in the locality for similar legal services; DR. SETTLEMENT ATTORNEY TIP: NO OTHER ATTORNEYS IN THE AREA WILL CHARGE FOR GETTING PIP TO PAY.
(9) the terms of the fee agreement between the lawyer and the client, including whether the fee agreement or confirming writing demonstrates that the client had received a reasonable and fair disclosure of material elements of the fee agreement and of the lawyer's billing practices. DR. SETTLEMENT ATTORNEY TIP: ATTORNEYS MUST DISCLOSE AND DISCUSS ALL ELEMENTS OF THE AGREEMENT, AND MY BET IS THAT YOURS DID NOT DO THIS.
HERE IS ONE LAST RULE REGARDING CONTINGENT FEE CONTRACTS:
(c) (2) A contingent fee agreement shall state the method by which the fee is to be determined, including the percentage or percentages that shall accrue to the lawyer in the event of settlement, trial or appeal; litigation and other expenses to be deducted from the recovery; and whether such expenses are to be deducted before or after the contingent fee is calculated. The agreement must clearly notify the client of any expenses for which the client will be liable, whether or not the client is the prevailing party;
OK, Bruce, that is about it until I hear back from you on the five topics above. I trust that my extra time here has been of value to you, and hence I respectfully request that you take a moment to find the FEEDBACK FORUM on this website and to leave some feedback for me.
Best wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
www.SettlementCentral.Com
