ComplaintsforWillamette Law Group PC

• Initial Complaint

  10/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Hello,I have spoken to ***** with the ****** Bar Client Assistance Program today and have voiced my concerns about possible money embezzlement from my attorneys side. On Oct 21, 2018 I suffered a motor vehicle accident resulting in serious injuries that affected the rest of my life and health. That day, I got rear-ended by a teenager who just got her license and was reckless driving. Due to the significant impact on my neck, shoulder and arm, I had to go through 3 years of regular treatment and see many physicians. My life was impacted because as a young and active 26 year old at the time, I suddenly could not drive, be engaged in my daily activities of living, or participate in my previous outdoors hobbies and sports. I was recommended to hire an attorney *****************************, however after taking on my case, he said it was too time consuming for his case load so he transferred my case to another personal referral of his, ******************* who would then plan to take over and help me with the insurance claim and loss. Initially, ***** was friendly however, whenever I needed to get a hold of him, his assistant *********************** would be the only one to answer the phone, emails and handle the case and my questions. When I hadn't heard from my attorney for a long time, I kept reaching out with no response. Finally, I was told by ***** that ******* no longer works for him anymore and that he doesn't have a replacement-assistant. Since then, it's been practically impossible to get a hold of my attorney. I would call with no answers, leave voicemails and wait for weeks or months, sometimes half a year just to hear back from him. I wasn't sure why my case is taking so long and not being settled, I didn't receive regular updates from my attorney and only heard back from him after making multiple attempts to reach him. In Jan 2023, he called me saying the case is settling with USAA insurance with a payout of 90k dollars. This year would be 5 years since my injuries and after all the stress I inquired, I was ready to close the case, agree to the settlement, and move on with my life. ***** called me and said the payout will come by end of January, possibly first week of February at the very latest. However, week after week went by, then months and the entire time I was being ghosted, my emails were being deterred as ***** kept promising he will "get around to it end of the day or tomorrow for sure". When asked to see the settlement - this was never sent to me. I had to trust his word as I had no written proof from him or the insurance saying the case settled. Multiple times I asked for the "itemization list" to be sent to me showing how much money I will receive, and have to pay him, plus medical bills accrued and have yet to receive a single the final breakdown. Recently, I was able to call USAA myself and I was told by the representative that my case closed in Nov 2022, and that the check was cleared to ******************* on Nov 17, 2022 - nearly a year ago! At this time, I have emailed him multiple emails asking "where is the money? please send me proof of the settlement? etc". I either get no reply or an email saying "im out of the office" or "my computer system is down". I had a chiropractor call me threatening to suit my attorney due to lack of paying out outstanding bills. After I notified ***** that there is a threat of a lawsuit, he quickly send the doctor a check however, in our agreement we had previously discussed that I would like to receive my portion of the payout first so I can personally pay my own bills (to avoid him charging me extra fees). I still haven't received the ****** dollar payout that was sent to him from the insurance and at this point, due to his unresponsiveness and inconsistent promises, I have reason to believe that the money was stolen. I am providing screenshots of email conversations between ***** and I. I am currently employed with ********************** as a Registered Nurse and I am concerned that the attorney may not only be holding back funds but committing a crime of theft/money embezzlement. This is really shocking and stressful experience for me and Im asking for help handling this matter please. I hope that the BBB can take appropriate action in resolving this case as I have concerns for the licensure of this individual with the possibility of other clients affected by his neglect. Thank you, ****

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩