My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: CA
Hi, I was in a car accident back in March 2005, and was working with a lawyer on a contingency basis. I went to an orthopedic surgeon back in July 2005 for injuries from the car accident. There I signed a physician - patient arbitration agreement. The physician saw me for a brief period and gave me a piece of paper with different stretches to do. With that said, I recently received a bill in January from a collections agency stating that I owe this orthopedic surgeon $950 + interest - totaling $1300. I have never seen the bill before until the notice. I called the doctor's office and left a message for the billing dept who never called me back. I spoke to the collector who told me that he is going to put my case on dispute to give me time to figure this mess out. I also contacted the lawyer who told me they would have to pull my case out of storage which would take some time. So in the meantime, I was wondering - what are my rights, and how should I proceed with this situation? Am I legally obligated to pay?

