What should I do if an attorney is trying to overcharge me for an auto accident case? 24 Answers as of February 17, 2012

You might want to file a grievance with the State Bar of Michigan against lawyer A.

Without your consent, there is no settlement. If Lawyer A has already deposited the check, he's got some 'splaining to do (as Desi Arnaz used to say) to the insurance company, and he better be prepared to send his trust check back to the insurance company for the full amount of the check it sent to him.

Right now you just have a bunch of what-ifs and that doesn't work for me or my clients. Ask for a written disbursement sheet showing the gross recovery, attorney fees, litigation expenses and how the checks for subrogation will be made out. That is the place to start.

A case is not settled until you sign a release. If no release has been signed, the case is not settled. If you do not want to settle the case, you do not have to settle the case. It is not a matter of your attorney "overcharging you", it is a matter of communication. You need to communicate your concerns to your attorney or get another attorney. Good Luck.

If you did not authorize the settlement and did not sign a release the lawyer can return the check to the insurance company and continue the case so you can hire new attorney. If the lawyer is acting contrary to your direction and is taking a fee outside of your retainer agreement you can file a grievance with the State bar association.

A lawyer cannot settle your case without your permission. If you instructed lawyer A to settle, a court will likely uphold the settlement. If, as you indicated, you did not give permission, then either there should be no settlement or lawyer A should be resposible to you. It seems like lawyer B took your story at face value, but then learned something that that led them to change their mind. Did they learn something that led them to believe that you did in fact give permission? I hope that you are able to work this out to your satisfaction.

I would first look at your fee agreement with Lawyer A. It should explain everything to you. Then I would go in and see Lawyer A and have them explain where the money is going. Typically attorneys charge between 25%-1/3% attorney fees. Some lawyers do take this off the gross settlement while others make sure that any medical liens are paid first. The lawyer may also have costs, which are in addition to any fees. If you still feel like Lawyer A is in violation of your fee agreement, then I would contact the Oregon Bar. They have a fee arbitration program. Remember, this is about what is in your contract, not what you feel your attorney should charge you. Your case cannot be settled until you have signed a Release, even if the insurance company sent a check in the mail.

I do not think that the issue is whether or not lawyer is charging too much. I think the issue is whether or not the case settled. If you did not authorize your attorney to settle then he had no right to settle your case. Based on your e-mail it is possible that the case did not settle and the insurance company just sent a check. Not likely but possible. If the case settled then I am sure that the insurance company will have documentation of an offer and of the acceptance of that offer. Since you haven't signed anything (release or the check) you should hire a new attorney to contact the insurance company and let them know that the case isn't settled. Then you can go forward with your claim. However if the insurance company says that the case is settled and they can prove that your attorney made or accepted an offer then your claim may be against the lawyer.

There are many things going on here. First and foremost, there is no settlement unless you signed a release. No attorney is going to take a case after a prior attorney has negotiated a settlement unless the settlement was for nuisance value because any successor attorney would understand that the prior attorney would have a lien on the file. You have a claim under the Illinois Worker's Compensation Act and you have a third-party negligence claim for personal injury. Apparently, the attorney who you hired is only handling the third-party action against the driver who hit you. You probably signed a contingency fee agreement with that attorney whereby the attorney would be entitled to a fee of one third of whatever he or she recovered. As long as you are pursuing a claim under the Illinois Worker's Compensation Act, that contract is not valid. The Illinois Worker's Compensation Act expressly provides that the Workers' Compensation insurance carrier is entitled to be reimbursed for 75% of all costs incurred. This would include all TTD (temporary total disability), all medical bills, and all monies paid for the permanent injury to your body. Accordingly, the attorney's fee on a third party claim related to a Worker's Compensation claim is limited to 25% of the amount recovered. If you hire an attorney to handle your Workers' Compensation claim, that attorneys fee will be limited, by statute, to 20% of the amount recovered. Because these injuries were work related, all of care must be rendered under Worker's Compensation without any cost to you. If your group health insurance carrier was billed by accident, you simply need to contact all of the providers and give them the Workers' Compensation insurance information. Your attorney should do this. You have not disclosed the nature of your injury, your income, or your lost wages so it is impossible for anyone in this forum to render an opinion as to whether the proposed settlement is fair. Oftentimes, the value of the Workers' Compensation claim in these cases far exceeds the value of the personal injury claim. Accordingly, with rare exception, you should not settle the personal injury claim until you settle the Workers' Compensation claim. The best course of action would have been for you to hire an attorney who is well familiar with both Worker's Compensation cases and personal injury cases so that the efforts could be coordinated.

If you have a problem with your attorney's fee, you should contact the Alabama State Bar The Alabama State Bar has a fee resolution service where they try to help attorneys and clients mediate a fee arrangement that is fair to both sides.

Your case is not settled until you sign a Release prepared by the defendant's insurance company. You still can get a second attorney and Attorney A will only receive the reasonable value of his services at the time the case actually settles. If there is a disagreement with the amount of his fee at that time, you can arbitrate that dispute. There is also the issue of the worker's compensation insurance being repaid for what they paid on your behalf. You should find a new lawyer in your community as soon as possible to resolve all these issues.

Your story is all mixed up. If you have worker's comp insurance, why would your health insurance even come into play? Call Lawyer a and ask for any accounting of the way the settlement will be divided. If they are paying some of your outstanding bills as a part of the settlement or costs they incurred in preparing your case, then this scenario looks typical. The lawyer offered a fee reduction so pay the woman. Take your $6k and pay down your credit cards.

I do not handle workers comp cases. However, it is my understanding that fees allowed are approved by the court and are at 8 -13%. I could be wrong. Laws do change and it has been years since I appeard on a WC case. I suggest that you contact the California State Bar. You can do that on line. Do not tell the attorney that he must give you money or you will file a complainty - that is extortion and a felony. Send him a letter stating that dispute the proposed settlement. That you insist that he provide you with a copy of your fie immediatey incuding all billing information and correspondence with the carrier.

It sounds like Lawyer A may have settled without your permission. The insurance company may be able to enforce that settlement if they had basis to believe that Lawyer A had your authority, even if he did not. This is something you should discuss with Lawyer B. If you can have the settlement set aside due to your lack of permission, you can go back and pursue your claim like nothing happened. If you lose that battle, you may have a claim against Lawyer A. Lawyer B may or may not be willing to help you with that, but if Lawyer B will not then another lawyer probably will. If Lawyer A settled your case without your permission, you also probably have a basis to file a bar complaint against him with the Florida Bar.