My friend recently got a DWI. We were wondering if it is necessary to get a lawyer or if a PD will suffice? He wants to do whatever will look best to the judge, but he can barely afford an attorney. Which one would be better? Thanks!

there was some property damage too but no one has said what was done and the dumbass doesn’t remember. He will have a PD. It’s been a month and no one has talked to him.

Does anyone know how long or how much you can get from a lower back injury from an auto accident? My C5 Vertebrae was pushed 5mm out of whack and it’s already been 18 months since I hired a lawyer. Thanks.

P.S. I know it’s long but I have the full details below.

About 18 months ago my car was hit by a 17 year old and his girlfriend while I was driving on the 60 freeway in Diamond Bar CA. The kid was driving his Mom’s minivan which was insured by Progressive, and I have AAA with only basic PL/PD coverage and a k Under Insured Rider (I don’t know the kid’s Mom’s limits with Progressive).
What happened is that I was in the #1 fast lane, the kid and his GF were next to me in the #2 lane and a Big Rig was in the #3 lane, (we were all side by side). The Big Rig honked his air horn and may or may not of moved into the kid’s lane. The kid ended up overreacting and and drove into my lane. He hit me in the RF fender which caused me to hit the center K rail at 70 MPH, after that I bounced off the rail and T-boned his van. Afterwards we pulled off to the side of the road and a Police report was taken. The Big Rig never stopped and was never identified, I was found 0% at fault and the kid was found 100% at fault. When I inspected the Kid’s van there was no damage to it that indicated that the Big Rig hit him, although now he is claiming that it did and Progressive says that there are signs of damage/contact (I think they’re just trying to be shifty). To be honest I don’t know if the Kid got distracted and swerved into the Big Rig’s lane or if the Big Rig came into his lane but either way the Kid is solely responsible for hitting me.
After wards I was a little shaken up and a little sore but I seemed fine so two days after the accident I went on a fishing trip that I had previously planned. I had to leave early on the second day because my lower back started killing me and because I couldn’t sit on the boat without getting a shooting pain down my left leg. I ended up seeing my Family doctor about 5-6 days after the accident and he said that I was still young so just give it time and that nothing was wrong (I have a HMO and no tests were done). About a week went by and Progressive wasn’t doing anything they promised, no rental car, no repairs, no medical, no nothing (they did offer me for my trouble though). I decided to talk to some friends and got a lawyer, started Physical therapy/Chiropractic treatment (which lasted for 24 sessions but never gave me any real relief), had X-Rays done, and finally had an MRI done which finally uncovered that my C5 (I think) vertebrae is 5mm out of whack causing my spinal cord to get pinched off which is giving me my lower back pain and a 30% loss of movement in my left leg.
What I’d like to know is what should I expect from this? I’m not out to screw anybody but Progressive hasn’t done anything but stall, they didn’t fix my car and they only want to give me about 15% of market value on it even when I’ve shown then 9 equal comparables. I was 29 years old at the time of the accident with no medical history and no pain before the accident. Now if I do any heavy lifting or any thing that irritates my back I end up hunched over for 2-3 days. I’ve had to completely modify my work habits (I’m self-employed and restore old cars), I take OTC pain pills so I can work without hurting much, and I can’t do many of the things I used to before the accident without either hurting or stressing out about possibly doing major permanent damage to my spinal cord. My medical bills are already at k and my attorney says that the future surgery to correct my vertebra will cost k but they won’t do it because the operation is only performed when the vertebra has moved 6mm or more so I’m right under the limit. Also the surgery outcome sucks since a 1/3 of people will get better, 1/3 will get worse, and 1/3 will stay the same.
After 18 months of waiting Progressive has finally come up offering k for the car and k for the Medical. What the heck is going on? Is my case not worth anything? What should I expect the cash outcome to be? How much longer will I probably have to wait to settle? Am I going to end up having to pay for a k future surgery or pay higher premiums for the rest of my life since I now have a pre-existing condition? I know the lawyer will get anywhere between 33-50% of the medical award and right now they’re asking for I believe around 0k. Any help would be greatly appreciated as this is the 1st and hopefully the last auto accident that I’ve ever been in. Thanks!

I am having to get a sentence modification on the 2nd half of my sentence for a dui which is rehab (i WANT to go) but i have to have surgery so I need to delay the sentence. My PD will not return calls so may need a private attorney and am broke.

Anyone know of an inexpensive attorney in Spartanburg, sc for a first time DUI, and do you need an attorney?
any experience with PD’s?