Lisa Faye Prince

Review of Bethune Law Firm

My case was difficult due to the fact that it was ...

My case was difficult due to the fact that it was a hit-and-run accident and the driver of the vehicle wasn t the policyholder. The accident occurred in October of 2016 and we have finally closed the case out today (12/19/2019).
Bethune Law Firm did eventually get the maximum amount in settlements from both insurance companies after the 3 year timeframe. My case settled for $55,000.
One would think that this is great news, and it is, other than the fact that after such a long painful wait, out of $55,000 I received a check for $17,000.
After legal fees and medical expenses, I (the plaintiff) walked away with $hi17,000 after paying out $38,000 in legal and medical fees out of $55,000.
Let me break it down so that you ll know how it works because it s obvious I didn t:
$22, 000 Attorney Fees (plus $1,500 clerical fees) totaling $23,500 to the law firm and .$14,500 in Medical Fees.
If I can give any advice, please use your own doctors, not the ones recommended by the law firm, and make sure that you read your contract carefully because it s obvious that I didn t. I didn t have a clear understanding of having to pay out 40% of my settlement to the attorney even though the case didn t go to court. I anticipated paying out 33.3% unless the case went to court but I was wrong and because the attorney filed the case in court, I paid 40%.
Hindsight is 20/20 and if I had to do it over again, I definitely wouldn t have went blindly in the direction that I did. Again, if you have your own insurance, DO NOT use the doctors recommended to you by the law firm; choose your own form of medical care. At least if you use your doctors, you can have more transparency of what your medical bills are and you re only paying your copayment. I never saw any itemized medical records and although the fees were reduced , I never saw one bill and never had the presence of thought to request itemized statements.
The attorney assured me that he fought hard for my case; I cannot dispute that, I can only say that I didn t expect the ending that I got but I am glad that I can close this chapter of my life and can finally begin my healing process.
I pray that I never have a need to use another attorney in this manner but if I do, I would definitely do more research before contracting with an attorney and I would make sure that I have a clear understanding of what I m signing.
I m not saying that the law firm did anything wrong, I am saying PLEASE don t move in haste and PLEASE make sure that you DO NOT use the doctors that they recommend (if possible).