WebKittyn Warbles
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Lawyers, Guns & Money - Lawsuit Updates
If it's possible to be both really excited and really bummed about something at the same time then that's where I am. It's like a living bi-polar moment without the bi-polar stuff. Hooey.
My lawyer called me today. Not his assistant, not is paralegal - him. It was a whole different tone on the phone than the last time I spoke with him. He was extremely encouraging without building too much hope but he was definitely encouraging.
He said he's ready to move on my case. My case. It wasn't my case before. He said his team of experts had reviewed what I sent to him (a small portion of the records) and they were ready to move on my case. He said he had 'spent all morning on your case.'
Last week when his assistant called me and asked me for some further papers, she apologised for his not getting back to me yet and told me he was in court and had 38 cases in review. That he went out of his way to jump me to the top and tell me he spent all morning on my case was the most encouraging feeling I've had.
Then the axe fell.
This guy is not an ambulance chaser. He's a real deal private attorney and the only reason he took me in the first place to review was as a favour to a friend. He doesn't have doctors on staff who can be called as expert witnesses but are also easy to dispute. He has an independent team of doctors (a kidney specialist, a lung specialist and one or two others) who he works with. They are not on his payroll.
This group is the group who reviewed what was sent which is about 1/4 of all the paperwork. I know that the three days in the ICU at Northern Dutchess alone had 136 pages of records and I've got eight weeks in AMC and three weeks in KH?
The problem?
It's going to cost $2000 for the fee to hire the expert witnesses. I don't even know if hire is the right word. First they subpoena all my records. Then I imagine they have someone who works for them go through the records page by page and highlight the important stuff. We're talking thousands of pages of records here. Then this group makes the final call as to whether there was medical malpractice and assesses the level of severity of the malpractice and the aftermath.
He told me straight out that he is fully aware of my financial situation, being on disability with a small check and hardly anything left over. He told me he would not encourage me to move forward on it unless he really thought there was a case, unless his group had done the preliminary report and with what they had were willing to say yes, there is something here.
Normally it would have cost in the $3000 area for such an extensive review requiring so many 'experts' but he was able to get it down to the $2000. I can understand the cost, when you start dealing with specialists it's always going to involve money for time. It's also a whole lot of records to read and a strange and tricky case to follow (everyone who gets into it calls it 'fascinating.' I'm 'fascinating.').
It was the best news I've gotten in a while. I was worried he was going to say there was nothing there but that was just me. Darkstar and everyone who lived through it with me seemed sure there was something there but I needed that confirmation from the lawyer to make it real. It helps a little bit with the long-term acceptance and coping. These people hurt me and it's not just me saying it now, it's people who are trained in these things.
But shit on a stick, 2 grand might as well be 2 million when you have nothing. I have no idea where I'm supposed to come up with 2 grand but I'm sure as hell going to try. I'd go sell a kidney but that wouldn't get me very far.
I will make this happen somehow.
In the meantime, it just feels really good inside to have that validation. I can knock a small piece of the chip off my shoulder now. Save the rest for when this is over.
2 grand. Shit.
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you’ll find a way,even if we have to do bake sales and car washes
on 06/10 at 12:15 AM -
If I had the whole thing, it would be in the mail tomorrow. I figure it would be good towards our commune eventually, or at least I’d get to sit at your right at the dinner table. Alas, I do not. I do, however, have a little I want to send. What is your paypal? Would you put a donation link up so we can all help you with what little or lot we can spare? Think of it not as donations but a means to an end. It sure beats baking 5000 cookies at a quarter a piece.
Mare Martell Stotler on 06/11 at 05:52 PM
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<-- Steal me!
