Best Medical Malpractice & Negligence Lawyers in Conroe, TX

Possibly, but usually not. Review the retainer agreement you signed with your attorney. It's possible that the retainer agreement allows your attorney to settle a case without your consent and to sign the settlement and release agreement on your behalf.

Your attorney is presumably deducting the expenses from the settlement or the money that you are receiving, so ask for documentation. Your attorney should be able to provide you with copies of invoices, bills and other receipts to demonstrate that these payments were made on your behalf. If you don't receive the documentation, don't permit them to be deducted from your settlement.

You have an absolute right as the client to see a copy of the settlement check, as well as to review a copy of the settlement breakdown sheet before the check is deposited. Typically, the insurance company check has both your and your attorney's name on it and, therefore, you would typically have to endorse the check before it could be placed in your attorney's client trust account. Ask your attorney to provide you with a copy of the actual settlement check forwarded to him by the insurance company, as well as a copy of all checks written totaling the full amount of the settlement.

Contact the Texas State Bar Association (website: www.texasbar.com) and ask what information they maintain on the attorney in question. In some states, they will not tell you if there are any "grievances", but they will let you know whether there has been any public record of discipline or other action taken by the Bar. You might also try asking the attorney directly.

Despite positions taken by lawyers on occasion, the file developed and maintained by a lawyer for services rendered to a client belongs to and is the property of the client. This includes any research, notes, or other work product of the lawyer. That means if the attorney client relationship ends and the client wants the file, the lawyer has to give the client the original file. If the lawyer wants to keep a copy, he may do so at his own expense.