Herniated Disc Injury - Should I Get a New Lawyer?

[SheyLynx]

What is the name of your state? New Jersey

I was in a motor vehicle accident in January of this year. I was driving through a green light when the other vehicle t-boned the car I was in. Luckily, there was witnesses, which talked to the police when they finally arrived (took them an hour to get to the scene). I did not go to the hospital as I just wanted to go home and thought that I was fine. The next day, I woke up in horrible pain and went to the hospital. At this point, I made the choice that I would pursue legal action as this pain was something that I had never experienced before. I am only 27 years old.

I went to my lawyer a few days after I received the police report. He felt that it was a good case and started me on therapy. After my pain did not subside, MRI's were recommended of my lower back, neck, and knee.

It turns out that I have a bulging disc at L5-S1, a bulging disc at C4-5 and C5-6, a herniated disc at C6-7, and slight arthritis of my right knee which may or may not have been caused by the accident. After doing everything that I was told, my lawyer is now stating that my case is a perfect candidate to go to trial, but he refuses to take it to that point and will just settle quickly. He stated that he does not want to spend the money to try to prove that these injuries were caused by the accident and that everyone in the State of New Jersey has a herniated disc. He stated that the my case is valued between 5,000 and 15,000.

Is there a fair settlement for these injuries? I am constantly in pain and do not think it is fair that he is pushing my case aside the way he is because he does not want to spend money on the case. I am still in therapy and am fed up at this point.

Should I just request for my case to negotiate quickly, or should I hire a new lawyer?

 

[moburkes]

How much insurance coverage does this person have? Were you the only injured party?

 

[SheyLynx]

I was the only person. I was on my way home from work actually in a state vehicle. Because I do not have a car of my own, and no one that I live with has a vehicle, I am covered under the New Jersey No Fault Insurance.

As far as the insurance goes, I know that the lady has All State Insurance, which the lawyer told me is one of the most difficult companies to deal with. However, he stated that there is no way for him to obtain her policy limits and such because then the insurance company would be revealing how much we could go for. We do have a policy number, from the police report, and I even called the insurance company and they advised me that she is covered. Because I already had a lawyer, they would not reveal the limits.

 

[moburkes]

Yes, you need a new lawyer. Keep in mind that this one gets 1/3, or whatever you negotiated, of the settlement.

 

[SheyLynx]

You mean the attorney I want to fire keeps a 1/3 of the money?

 

[moburkes]

You mean the attorney I want to fire keeps a 1/3 of the money?

Yep, or whatever you negotiated.

 

[SheyLynx]

How is that possible? I would understand if he wanted to charge me for whatever time (which is little) he has invested on my case, but to still charge me 1/3 seems a bit odd.

 

[ecmst12]

When you hired the lawyer, you signed a contract. Read the contract.

Herniated discs ARE extremely common, though not as much in people your age, but in younger people they tend to be less severe and even sometimes resolve on their own.

 

[SheyLynx]

If this is the case, then I see no point in hiring a new lawyer. I'm not about to give one lawyer 1/3 of my money, the 2nd lawyer another 1/3, and then I'm stuck with the remaining 1/3 that will probably not even be enough to cover my medical bills.

Also, I was under the impression that herniated discs are a lifetime injury. I don't see how this injury resolves itself. Can someone explain this to me?

 

[las365]

You need a new lawyer. The one you have now would not necessarily be entitled to 1/3 of the entire settlement you end up getting. If he has obtained an offer from Allstate, he would probably be entitled to 1/3 of that. Example: if he has gotten you an offer of $1000, and you terminate your contract with him and later settle for $20,000, he would be entitled to $333.33, plus whatever expenses he has paid on your behalf.

He may waive his lien if you terminate, especially if your new lawyer pays his expenses at the time s/he takes over the case.

It is uncommon for an attorney to be unable to find out what the policy limits are. Allstate can be difficult, but I have worked on cases defending their insureds and they always divulged the policy limits.

You'll probably have to fire your current lawyer before another one will discuss your case with you.

Did the current lawyer send to to "his" chiropractor? It sounds like he runs a "mill" practice: Get 'em in, get 'em to the chiro, settle fast. Have you gotten a referral for a consult with an orthopedic surgeon? Not that you should have surgery, even if a surgeon recommends it. But you shouldn't settle until your diagnostics are finished and treatment is substantially complete. You need to know what your actual and projected future medicals are.

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer or a doctor. I've worked in the legal field for many years and any suggestions I make are based on practical experience and are not legal advice.

 

[ecmst12]

This is how a doctor explained it to me. In young people, the bones(joints) are more flexible. A severe muscle strain can cause disc bulges/herniations just from the muscles squeezing together and locking up. As the soft tissue injuries heal and the muscles release, the disc bulge can resolve. I don't know if that's the situation in your case, but it can happen. What are your symptoms besides pain?

 

[SheyLynx]

Sorry to make this long, but I just want to make sure that I make the right decision.

Yes, this lawyer sent me to his chiropractor. He stated that these chiropractors are very good, but one tells me that it is a serious injury and the other tells me that it's a simple injury. So of course, I don't know what to think. I attended therapy for my lower back for 6 months and it did not help one bit. It was not until the 5th month of my therapy that the herniated disc was discovered and I have not received therapy for it.

I was referred to a neurologist because the discs in my neck are causing my upper back and shoulders to go numb (burning sensation). It feels like something is pulling down on my neck, and it triggers these intense headaches which feel like pressure inside my head. If I lay my head in a particular way, the pain in my neck starts and triggers a headache. Depending on how I lay my head, it makes it even worst. I usually get a headache sometime in the day, and could last hours, or even days. It's very rare that I go a day without one. I was prescribed amytriptilline to help me through the night, but it does nothing during the day. The pain has begun to shoot down into my elbows and fingertips. This is something that I have never experienced before.

As far as my back, my lumber region feels numb at times and I cannot sleep comfortably without having some type of hip pain or back pain during the night. It feels like a burning sensation. The pain does go down through my thighs. Again, it's very rare where I go a day without this pain.

I was referred to an orthopedic doctor for the knee where I was given a cortizone shot. He stated that if after 5 days I did not feel improvement, it meant that it did not work. He also stated that surgery does not seem to be an option at this point, but it could be one day, but that is something I don't think I want to go through.

I have attended various chiropractor, neurological, and orthopedic appointments. As far as chiropractorones, those are done. They stated there is nothing more they can do. I see myself attending a few more neurological and orthopedic ones before I know what my future looks like.

As far as firing my current lawyer and hiring a new lawyer, I have read that the new lawyer can give me a consultation and proceed to send my attorney a letter stating that his services are no longer needed. Is this true?

 

[ecmst12]

You still have to READ YOUR CONTRACT to find out if/how you can break it and what you'll owe your current attorney.

You definitely don't want surgery. Disc surgeries don't have the greatest success rate, and they have a long and painful recovery time. It's not worth it unless you're in so much pain you can't function. If your neurological symptoms are all sensory and you don't have any motor weakness, your prospects are better. Personally, I'm a big believer in a GOOD chiropractor and massage therapy for auto injuries, but good chiros are hard to find. It will improve over time but you probably won't be the same as you were before. But it's most likely to just be an annoyance rather then something that interferes with your activities, and that's what makes it worth less money.

 

[las365]

At the firm where I work, we don't do consultations with people who are already represented because we won't interfere in other attorneys' contracts with their clients. We sure wouldn't write a letter to an attorney saying hey, we represent your client now, you're fired! It's your relationship to terminate (as the terms of your agreement provide; as stated above, you need to know what your contract says).

Besides, a potential new attorney would need to review your entire file to evaluate your case. If you ask for your file but don't want to say why, your lawyer will know something is up. It is better to be straightforward.

To me, the most troubling aspect of what you have said is that your lawyer doesn't know the policy limit of the other driver's insurance. Your decision whether to settle and for how much depends on what your damages are and what potential recovery is available. If you are in the dark about either, you can't make an informed decision.

 

[SheyLynx]

Well, this is what my contract says:

RIGHT TO WITHDRAW/REJECTION OF ATTORNEY'S ADVICE:The attorney has the right to withdraw if a settlement recommended by the attorney is not accepted by the client. The attorney will then be entitled to a fee based upon that settlement offer. In the event you reject our advice concerning settlement negotiations, we normally require you to advance any further costs if you want to proceed further with your case. In the event that the claim referred to in this agreement becomes, at the attorney's sole discretion, either economically unreasonable to pursue because of costs or, if after the investigation we feel your case is not worthwhile to pursue, the client agrees the attorney may dismiss/withdraw from the case.

Also:

If the client should decide, after s(he) signs this agreement, that s(he) no longer wishes to continue with the lawsuit against the defendants, the client has the right to ask the attorney to have the lawsuit stopped and taken out of court. However, if the client asked the attorney to stop the lawsuit, the client shall be responsible for paying the attorney for all services performed by the attorney up to the time when the lawsuit is stopped. The client shall pay for these services at a rate of $400.00 per hour.


These lawyers make way too much money.