The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of PI Law Firms: How Chiropractors Can Spot Winners—and Avoid Losers

Let’s dive into one of the most critical but misunderstood parts of personal injury(PI) work as a chiropractic office: How do you tell a good PI attorney from a bad or ugly one?

There’s no crystal ball.
There’s no ironclad guarantee.
You don’t work with certainty—you work with probability.

Some attorneys will elevate your practice. Others will crush your profitability without a second thought. Your job is to tilt the odds, heavily in your favor.

The Problem: It’s Like Online Dating

If you ever used Match.com or some online dating service, you have a profile, photos and the idea is to create “matches”.  Some find success and marry. Some end up with one-night stands. Many find all too late that the profiles were lies: wrong age, wrong height, wrong picture, even wrong availability.

In today’s age of expanded websites and social media like Facebook and LinkedIn, it’s much the same for business matches.  And just like personal dating, what you see is not always what you get … or want.  And sometimes, its disaster or you were outright fooled.

So how do you, as a chiropractic office, find the right match with a personal injury attorney or firm?

Let’s address this head on, going from worst to first: spotting the ugly, calling out the bad, and celebrating the good.

The Ugly: Red Flags Waving Loud and Clear

The “ugly” law firms don’t hide their issues for long.  They leave clues—big ones:

• State Bar Discipline: for mistreating medical liens or ethics violations.
• Kickback Schemes: demanding bill reductions in exchange for patient referrals.
• Interference With Care: pushing you toward unnecessary treatment or unqualified providers.
• Always Demanding Deep Cuts: even when settlements are large.
• Threats and Attacks: whenever you ask for higher payment.

If you’re dealing with these tactics, you’re not just risking money—you’re risking your license, your reputation, and your peace of mind.

The Bad: Danger in Disguise

Some problems are easier to miss because they come disguised as opportunity:

• Jack-of-All-Trades Firms: If their website lists any specialty other than PI—such as family law, criminal defense, or business law—beware. They’re dabblers, not experts.
• “One-Time” Haircut Promises: Take a reduction today, and they’ll “send more patients tomorrow.” They won’t.
• Secret Settlement Deals: They hide how much they recovered, how much they’re being paid, and how they’re distributing the proceeds—usually at your expense.
• MedPay and PIP Theft: They hold hostage to what’s legally yours—and worse, they take their fees out of it harming not just you but their own client in the process.
• Respect on a String: They give you just enough wins to keep you hooked—while quietly bleeding your business.

The Good & Great: True Professionals Stand Out

And then—thankfully—there’s the good and the great.

The great PI attorneys show up differently:

• They value your role: As crucial to healing the patient and building damages for the case.
• They sacrifice their own fees: Before asking you for cuts—especially on small settlements.
• They keep you informed: Notifying you of recovery issues during treatment, and bringing you reduction requests before decisions are made.
• They never hide settlement amounts or play games with MedPay or PIP payouts: They do it right.
• They treat you like a respected professional: Not a replaceable vendor to be negotiated down like a used car.

They realize that without you they have no case—no healed client–no client recovery.

Even a Loss Can Be a Win: And You Have Options

And remember: Mistakes can be profitable—if you learn fast and act.

With proper contracts, lien handling processes, and the right mindset, even a run-in with a bad or ugly attorney can still strengthen your practice and your profits.

Evaluate your attorneys like you evaluate your patients.

Categorize them wisely looking not just at obvious red flags but danger in disguise.
Adjust your caution, your processes and your actions accordingly. Learn, apply, and improve.

Learn from online dating horror stories, and don’t get fooled by law firm dating profiles and teasers.

And at least in this area, you do have help:

You can turn over the bad or ugly ones to a specialized PI outsource bill recovery to pros like PI Billing Pros.

Or, get coached on getting more of the good and great attorneys, more PI patients’ referrals, becoming a value driver and even how to outmaneuver and out-negotiate the difficult law firms yourself when you join the Business Advantage Program.

Because that’s the real business of medicine—not just helping patients but also building a chiropractic business that thrives.