Breakthrough
The weeks dragged on since I had heard anything from either of my lawyers regarding my case. Finally, on August 26th, 2020, I reached out to my personal injury attorney. No word back yet from Worker’s Comp, she informed me. She advised me that she would reach out yet again so we could try and get this case settled. Our last communication with them had essentially informed them that that unless the medical lien was reduced, we were going to drop the case. Nobody would win.
When one clings to hope, however, sometimes miracles happen.
Nearly an hour later, I received a phone call from my attorney who was handling the Worker’s Comp portion of my case. He informed me that Worker’s Comp had finally gotten back in touch with him and they had offered to reduce the lien amount by 50%. Considering how difficult they had been to deal with regarding my case, the lien reduction was indeed a miracle. On top of that, due to the much lower settlement amount than what we’d hoped to get, he also advised me that he would waive his retainer fee.
Once both lawyers had gotten copies of the agreed-upon offer, I met with the Worker’s Comp attorney on September 11, 2020—two years and one day since my last day on the police force. It was a bittersweet moment indeed. I signed the release documents, agreeing to pay Worker’s Comp back the 50% portion of the lien once everything wrapped up on the personal injury side of the case. By the 14th, the release agreement had been signed by the deputy commissioner.
Now I could finally move forward to settle the personal injury case. As much as I had hoped for a better outcome with Worker’s Comp, I had to remind myself to be grateful for the wins that did happen. The lien reduction allows for me to get a bit of a settlement, which will help pay for the medical treatment I need to improve my recovery from the car crash.
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