hi my friend was hurt in car accident two months ago as a pedestrian ,police ambulance all came ,she called her insurance company and applied for claims, she was asked to submit vouchers with signatures for the expenses

she is having for her self and her son


her lawyer charged her 130$ an hour to explain and did not take up her case

, in general i have heard

lawyers just charge a percent of the claim , i do want to know if this is right

and will she get a huge amount in her settlement as her injuries are not much but phsyi is going to send her for mri for back pain

but she is not currently working (not getting short term disability from her work too)


anyone can pls guide

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akkiluck

She should look in the yellow pages, Personal Injury lawyers are a dime a dozen. The lawyer that charged her $130 / hr was a crook - they usually only charge a fixed % of the damages awarded. Once she picks a lawyer, she should have lawyer #2 get in touch with lawyer #1 in an attempt to recover the money, although the chances are slim if she signed any documents with lawyer $1, agreeing to pay the fees. I'm not sure what you meant by "she is having for her self and her son"? Was her son involved in the accident too? If that was the case, she should get a sizeable settlement. A competent lawyer can usually run enough rings around the insurance company to force them to settle out of court, a process that is quick and ensures fast dispensation of cash to the plaintiff.

She just needs to be more careful which lawyer she picks next time. The Ontario Bar association should be able to make some recommendations. It is also advisable to check with the Better Business Bureau regarding a lawyer's past history before signing any documents. Please see links below for more details.


Cheers


DT

http://www.oba.org/
http://bbb.org/

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Microsoft - Which end of the stick do you want today?

thanks for advice

its helpful for newcomers like me

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akkiluck

How much time normally such claim case take? Mine was started about 6 months before and I am not hearing anything from my lawyer. All concerned (doctor, phisiotherapist and me) are waiting for any money to see. I am told that all depends on how the lawyer is handling the case and nothing is possible without his success against the insurence company. I have signed all the documents with lawyer. Will anyone please advise?

Ben

My friend broke his one rib six years ago in a car accident. He could not go to work for six months. He (thru his lawyer) lodged the claim with other party's insurance company.

The other party is still fighting the case since then. My friend haven't got a penny till date.

FYIE, a Personal Injury lawyer handle more than a dozen cases at any given time and since lawyers are human too (believe it or not ), they tend to give more attention to cases where the plaintiff is also very involved in the case. If you are the quite mousy kind of Desi, chances are your case is on the back burner and if you want to fire it up, you'r gonna have to light a flame under the lawyer's arse.

Cheers

DT

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Microsoft - Which end of the stick do you want today?