No, the lawyer was working pro bono. 600k is what those hours would have cost.

This. He would have (probably) got the money if it had gone to trial and we had won.

if you think the whole "600k is what it would have cost" thing is crazy, then stay far away from our medical system! In medicine 600k is getting off easy

What is the billable rate? 1000 per hour?

Unironically yes. I remember going to the ER in a rural town in Texas when I was 18 and getting the bill for the doctor and it was $800/hr.

The hospitals hire many ER doctors as “contractors” so they can crank the rates up. But the doctor works for a conglomerate that rents them out to the hospital for a fixed salary and the conglomerate profits the spread.

I was in the ER with my wife for an asthma issue for about 90 minutes (no ambulance), and the bill after insurance was $1,750.