So we had no choice but to get a lawyer, and this was something we were not happy about, always hearing such bad things about lawyers
However, four years later, and much agony in the process, the lawyer got the insurance company to pay up 95% of their insured drivers liability ceiling dollar amount..of course we did not get that 95% but had to pay the lawyer his 1/3 contingency, which in this case was only fair
I dont blame the lawyer at all, he did the work, he fought with the insurance company, he deserved the money...
The one I am angry at is the insurance company...they were rude to my husband, condescending as could be, and really just plain nasty...I am baffled that they refused to pay the claim, right in the beginning, and made us go through a lot, and certainly they wasted a lot of time and money fighting this case, which they wound up losing to the max...
When this suit was finally settled, I asked the lawyer why didnt the insurance company do the right thing in the first place and just pay the claim...the lawyer said that in all his 30+ years of being a lawyer, he seldom has seen an insurance company do the right thing...
Of course, that keeps him in business, no doubt...All I know is, in this case the lawyer did his job, won our case, kept us informed at all times of what was going on, and as far as I know never cheated us...some may quibble about his fee of 1/3 of the award, but hey, thats the standard going rate...
I trust lawyers now, more than I would trust an insurance company...
I also dislike lawyers as a group but have to admit the only two I ever used were pretty decent guys. They won their case and didn't charge a lot either.
There is one lawyer group that I think are the absolute dregs of society. That group is legal aid.
I have a nephew who was a truly pitiful case. He had been abused by the system and by his ex-wife. She sued him regarding child-support. He had made all his payments and even had pretty good, though not perfect proof. She waited until he could no longer obtain his cancelled checks due to the bank destroying them and went to her local (in another state) child support enforcement office.
Despite the fact that he didn't owe her a cent, that agency and the court would not even allow him to present his evidence. The judge simply told him he had no choice but to enforce the other state's order. He threatened to throw him in jail but finally allowed him 60 days to contact the other state.
This poor fellow was disabled and living in a shack in the woods. He asked legal aid for assistance but they declined, saying it didn't meet their criteria despite his being destitute and having an extremely strong case.
He asked me for assistance and I took him to a lawyer who was kin to both of us. He agreed to take the case for free and commented that legal aid only took PC cases. This lawyer went to court, won the case easily and said the Judge and the local child support office had no business even allowing it in court.
However, the problem with lawyers is like picking a spouse and getting married. You don't know what you really are getting. If you get a good one, well, you're simply lucky. And if you get a bad one, it's hell.