Is My Mother's Lawyer Lying?

[hawiovi]

Hi,

My mother was injured when she fell and broke her shoulder in a Pathmark store in the Bronx in March of 2010. She retained right away a law firm named Gacovino, Lake and Bailey.

There has been bankruptcy for awhile with Pathmark stores. However, we feel the firm would not have taken the case if they believed they would not receive any money.

So, just in December of 2011, the lawyers told my mother "time is of the essence" in getting everything done quickly. (my mother never went to any court)

But just today, February 21, 2012, the lawyer called and said my mother is getting nothing because of the bankruptcy, that there were five other lawsuits having to do with Pathmark, and they're not getting anything either. The lawyer said the settlement money started out as $75,000 to around $2,000 to nothing. Does this make sense?

I looked up a case that was initiated A YEAR AFTER my mother sued, in July 2011 about a woman who sued a Pathmark in Brooklyn for the same reason, and that woman won a settlement after only 20 days. (my mother's suit had been going almost 2 years).

So what does bankruptcy have to do with anything when that woman won a year after my mother's suit? Also, why would these lawyers work for so long not to get anything?

An added note: He told my mother he wanted her to sign something when he sends it by mail. She told me she's not going to do so.

I believe he is lying. How do we go about proving this? Do we look up the case and get access to court files?

Has anyone ever heard of a case like this?

I just don't know how another person was able to get a settlement after my mother's case from Pathmark if Pathmark has no money.

Or how lawyers knowing about the bankruptcy and keeping on working the case.

[darce]

Bankruptcy is when the company has more debt than money.
When your mother first filed the lawsuit, the company had not yet filed bankruptcy, so the lawyers would expect a payoff. But why would they lie? He has been working on the case for almost 2 years and is not getting a single cent in payment. If there was a paycheck, he would not be walking away.

When in bankruptcy, the government (the court system) determines who gets paid from the money that is availalbe. Employees are paid first. Then it's determine based on many factors who gets paid, until there is no money left. Your mom does not have a judgement to get any money so she is not even in line to get paid.

We don't know the specifics of your case. the specifics of the other case is:
- it happened in a very busy area of the store, near equipment that leaked water.
- many customers and employees came to help the lady and she was taken away by ambulance.
- no one is denying that it happened.

The settlement was out of court. We do not know what she received. Maybe she only got money for missed work and medical treatment which the store was liable for paying, since EVERYONE agreres that Pathmark was at fault.

[caelin]

He probably isn't lying.

The case that was initiated A YEAR AFTER your mother sued has less than nothing to do with anything. I can tell you exactly why that woman "won a settlement after only 20 days." It's because Pathmark failed to appear (answer) in the lawsuit and the woman got a piece of paper saying she received a default judgment. (You do not WIN a settlement. The defendant offers a settlement, and a settlement wouldn't be something you would see in court.) That woman likely has a piece of paper that claims she is entitled to a judgment . . . but she won't see a penny.

When a business declares bankruptcy it is claiming it has a specific amount of money and assets. Those assets are distributed among the creditors. And a personal injury plaintiff (like your mother) is going to be in the lowest tier of creditors.

Yes, the lawyers were counting on there being money for litigation at the end of the process - or were otherwise hoping there would be enough assets that they could get a payday before the company was tapped out. In the alternative, those lawyers were counting on the fact that Pathmark would have had insurance to deal with injuries. After two years of litigation and the bankruptcy, the lawyers have almost certainly discovered there will be no money. Personal injury litigation for lawyers is always a risk. Your mother's lawyers have devoted hundreds of hours over the last two years and are getting nothing.

And before you mother decides she isn't going to sign something, she might consider reading it first.

RESPONSE TO ADDITIONAL DETAILS: Oh sweet pea, if you think THIS was sarcasm or snippiness you have lived a very very sheltered life. I wasn't even trying to be an a$$ or I would have pointed out your phenomenal foolishness in identifying the law firm and/or the defendant. Or essentially identifying your mother by providing the approximate date the action was filed and the nature of her injury. This type of thing is a lawyer's nightmare - when litigants and/or their overly involved family members get involved and start posting random stuff about which they clearly know nothing.

And instead of THANKING me for being the only one who took the time to give you a legitimate answer, you bust my balls? Guess that says a lot about YOU, doesn't it?