Worker's Comp/Injury Settlement: can it be negotiated?

In September 1999, my mother fell and broke her hip and arm, while she was at work. The company, North Lake Foods, paid her hospital and physical therapy bills, and also lost wages. Now, they want to finalize the settlement and close the case.

They are offering $5,000 for the final settlement, which I think is far too little for all the suffering she has gone through. I have talked to various lawyers who think so , too.

My problem is: would it be worth paying a lawyer to try to get more, say, $10,000? I talked to the lawyer for North Lakes Foods, and he said they could go to $6,000, but they normally did not make a settlement at all, but they were making an exception for my mother, since she was a good worker. Could we possibly negotiate more, or would it be a waste of money? My mother doesn't have the money to pay an expensive lawyer!

I am not a lawyer expert, but most of the time if you can find a lawyer, and if they feel like she has a good case to work with, they will take their pay out of the settlement, and alot of them have free consultations so you can explain what happened to see if they feel like she could get more money for her injury. That way you will know what to expect before you hire them. And with a hip injury, she may end up having arthritis from now on also, so they may take that into consideration to get more money for her. It never hurts to make a phone call to see. Good Luck!