Expert: Ron Cercone - 2/2/2009

Question
my husband was involved in an car accident.He was sitting at a stop sign waiting for a car to turn on the left side of him.Instead the driver turned and hit him head on totaling the car and injuring him.My husband went to the hospital,took test which they said he had some substance in his body.We hired a lawyer to take the case which he stated we had a good case.After months and months of calling the lawyer getting the runaround everyday not returning calls nor answering them.It seems that the lawyer is not in our best interest.Now he's saying that we can't win because of the hospital report.lawyer says insurance don't want to settled.I said lets take it to court whether we win or not.The other driver should be responsible for the accident.the statue of limitations are about to run out.How can we fire this lawyer and get the files and hire another lawyer.My husband did not cause the accident.We are not being represented properly.

Answer
I assume you have no insurance of your own. If you do, report it to your own insurer as well.

Make sure you are right on the statute to file suit, it is one or two years for bodily injury in most states. And it is 3 years for the property damage (the car itself) in most states. But call your local small claims court clerk or ask your attorney.

Even if your husband had alcohol in his body, that does not necessarily mean he was at fault, any more than if he was driving without a drivers license. But there may be some states that override this, so even your "bad lawyer" should be able to tell you this. Heck, call any of the hundreds of accident lawyers who have the one page ads in the phone book.

Get a copy of the police report and see how it assigns the fault. Thats what the adjuster will look at first. If you disagree with the police report, then you may have to hire your own investigator or come up with evidence and or witness statement that the cop missed.

As to finding another lawyer, go hunting as soon as possible, and let him take care of getting your file from the other attorney. At the very least a new lawyer can file a lawsuit on one piece of paper, just to protect the statute, and amend the complaint later. But the new lawyer has to "buy" your story.

If you can't find an "accident attorney" in the phone book to take your case, you probably don't have much of a case.

If you file your case in small claims court, check for the limit on damages. Its better than nothing, and if you lose, the most you pay is the other sides costs, which would not be over 20 or 30 dollars. Attorneys are not allowed in small claims court, so you don't have to worry about an attorney running up huge costs of suit.

If the other guys insurer covers your automobile damage, but under pays it, check out the total loss automobile consumer guides at www.uclaim.com/products.asp .