How to Test a Settlement Offer Against Fees and Medical Bills

Attorney Answer

No one outside your case can tell you whether that number is fair, and you should be wary of anyone who tries — including a website. What you can do is test the offer against the things that actually decide value, and get a second opinion before you sign anything.

Start with the arithmetic you were handed. A contingency fee normally comes off the gross recovery, and case expenses are usually charged on top of the fee, so whether expenses come out before or after the fee is calculated changes your net. On the figures you were given, roughly $11,000 sits between the medical bills and your net — that is the fee and expenses combined, and you are entitled to see it itemized in writing before you decide anything.

The medical side often moves more than the gross does. Provider balances, health plan reimbursement claims and hospital charges are frequently negotiated down before a case closes, and every dollar of reduction is a dollar to you. Ask what has actually been negotiated, not what is owed on paper.

Three things in Texas law shape what a case like this is worth. First, fault is apportioned: a claimant more than 50 percent responsible recovers nothing (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001), and otherwise damages are reduced by the claimant's own percentage (§ 33.012(a)). A passenger normally carries none of that, which is a point in your favor. Second, each liable defendant owes only its own percentage of the damages unless it is found more than 50 percent responsible (§ 33.013(a), (b)) — so who has been sued matters. Third, coverage sets the ceiling in most cases. Texas minimum limits are only $30,000 per injured person and $60,000 per crash (Tex. Transp. Code § 601.072(a-1)), but a commercial tractor-trailer operation is generally insured well above those figures, and a crash involving a company truck often involves the company as well as the driver. Whether all of that has been identified is a fair question to put to your lawyer in writing.

What you can do

1. Ask your lawyer, in writing, for a settlement statement: the gross offer, the fee percentage and dollar amount, each expense itemized, every medical balance with any reduction obtained, and your net.

2. Ask whether the fee is calculated before or after expenses, and ask for a copy of the fee agreement you signed.

3. Ask which parties and which insurance policies have been identified, and whether any coverage above the primary policy was located.

4. Ask your treating doctors whether you are finished treating. A settlement closes the claim for future care too.

5. Remember the decision is yours. Whether to accept or reject a settlement belongs to the client, not the lawyer, and no one can settle your case over your objection. Before you answer either way, ask your lawyer how long the offer stands and what happens to the case if you do not take it.

6. Get a second opinion. Many injury lawyers will review an offer at no charge, and the State Bar of Texas runs a fee dispute resolution program you can ask about if the real disagreement is over the fee.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) gives two years from the day the cause of action accrues to bring a personal injury suit. If suit has not been filed, that clock is running while the offer is being discussed. Ask your lawyer in writing whether suit is on file, and have a Texas attorney confirm where your deadline falls.