Arthur Stephen Novello

I'm sure Mr. Novello is great to most clients. I feel that he didn't do me justice. In fact I feel he lost me almost 3/4 of my potential settlement. First, our communication was lacking. I do admit, I did contact him often for updates in my case, which he claims there were none in the 10 month he rep...resented me up until the day before we parted ways. I asked him repeatedly, if he's contacted the adjusters, or if they've made offers. He's always said no. Only until I found out by mistake from a secretary/paralegal of his, that he was in fact in contact with them, and they're were making offers. He declined the offers without my consent, which I'm sure he allowed to do. The offers coming in were not fantastic, and really didn't do me justice. So in his defense, I understand why he declined them. I know that if he told me, and god forbid I accepted, he and his firm would have made nothing off my case, and neither would I have. My last complaint: My only medical bills I had when at the time, and even now, were the ambulance, ER, and the xray/diagnostic. I asked him many times, about going to another doctor, or even one of his choosing, and he never replied until last week, stating that if I feel that my hand is still an issue, and I'm still experiencing discomfort or pain, I should seek treatment. I understand that. I'm a citizen. I have no degree in law, nor do I know a whole lot about law, injury cases, and lawsuits. I do however know that 2 medical bills for less than $2000 are going to make a lot of difference. After I aired my grievances with him, we mutually decided that parting ways is for the best. I did speak to a handful of other attorneys, who refused to take my case on the grounds that A) its now 10 months after the incident B) they don't want to pick up where another attorney left off C) having so few medical bills for my injury, they said my case isn't worth anything D) they couldn't even send me to another doctor, because it's 10 months later. I was told by all 6 lawyers to take whatever the adjuster is offering me directly, and run. Which after 2 days of speaking with attorneys, and all of them refusing to take my case advised me to do. Two lawyers referred to my case as a "sweetheart of a case". They told me if my former attorney acted according, sent you to specialists, (which I'm told he could have spoken to the medical provider, explained I didn't have insurance, and told them when the case settles, they will get paid), and essentially did his part and "played ball", I could have potentially been awarded $25,000 or more to myself. This makes me livid. $25000 is close to 5 times more than what I was forced to settle for. The attorney's who I spoke to after Mr. Novello and I terminated our relationship told me, its in my best interest to file a lawsuit against Mr. Novello and his firm for malpractice and negligence. They also told me to submit a complaint with the Philadelphia Bar Association. I am currently meeting with attorneys to pursue these options. To sum it up, do not use Mr. Novello as your legal representation.