{"id":10318,"date":"2012-09-10T14:07:44","date_gmt":"2012-09-10T18:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=10318"},"modified":"2013-03-22T18:25:57","modified_gmt":"2013-03-22T22:25:57","slug":"show-me-the-money-getting-my-settlement-check-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=10318","title":{"rendered":"Show me the money! Resolving a settlement 7"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s amazing how many things have happened since I last wrote about this apparently endless difficulty I’m having, trying to get my settlement check from Dinkes & Schwitzer.<\/a><\/p>\n

I signed off on the settlement on November 3, 2011. But if you’ve been following this string of posts, you know that Dinkes didn’t send the demand for a check, and the necessary releases and other paperwork, to the defendant’s lawyers until July 20, 2012.<\/p>\n

On Friday, September 7, right after I dropped into the mailbox an envelope to the Disciplinary Committee, catching them up, so to speak, on all this business, I got another letter from Dinkes, signed by William Hamel. This is what it said:<\/p>\n

Please be advised that our office has been informed that the defendant insurance company will not issue the settlement draft for your lawsuit until such time as they receive a “Final Demand” amount letter from Medicare. To date, Medicare has only issued a conditional payment letter.<\/em><\/p>\n

I suppose that many clients would read such a letter and think, “Well, OK, sounds confusing but plausible,” and further, “That damn government agency! It’s all their fault.”<\/p>\n

Not this client. Because it isn’t plausible, it isn’t true and it is certainly not Medicare’s fault. Here’s why:<\/p>\n

Last month I received a copy of an August 11, 2012 letter Medicare sent to Dinkes, advising them (warning them, really) that Medicare can’t send a final report on this case because Dinkes has failed to provide them with (1) the settlement amount; (2) the amount of attorney’s fees; and (3) an itemized listing of the case expenses.<\/p>\n

Medicare, very kindly, calls this “lack of information.” I am less diplomatic. I call it incompetence and\/or negligence.<\/p>\n

Along with this Medicare letter came another one from Medicare, informing Dinkes that they do not have the “proper Proof of Representation on file.” I had warned Dinkes about their failure to provide Medicare with proof of representation in a certified letter to William Schwitzer, dated January 25, 2012. Here’s what I wrote:<\/p>\n

Additionally, the Medicare “help person” [on the phone with me] informed me that you, my lawyers, have not yet filed an authorization or an executed retainer agreement with them. You need to do this.<\/em><\/p>\n

But I shouldn’t have to tell you that.<\/em><\/p>\n

No, I should not have had to tell them that. Any competent lawyer would know this. But I did tell them in January, yet as of August 11, 2012, Medicare had still<\/em> not received Proof of Representation, i.e., a mutually acknowledged retainer agreement.<\/p>\n

Why not? Because Dinkes never executed a mutually acknowledged retainer agreement with me. <\/strong>What I signed was a blank Blumberg form<\/a>. When I asked Dinkes to email me the executed retainer agreement, I was pretty surprised to see that the law firm’s name wasn’t on the form, nor did any lawyer at the firm countersign it.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

I wonder: have Dinkes & Schwitzer realized this and are they now thinking, “How are we going to close this case without telling the client [i.e., me] the truth?”<\/p>\n

I remain astounded that a law firm like Dinkes & Schwitzer can advertise their business, sign up clients and practice their law in New York City, under the auspices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.<\/p>\n

But I gotta run, because now I have to write yet another<\/em> letter to the Disciplinary Committee, again apologizing for the lateness of yet another<\/em> submission. Will this never end? A better question: can I come up with a way of getting my settlement check?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s amazing how many things have happened since I last wrote about this apparently endless difficulty I’m having, trying to get my settlement check from Dinkes & Schwitzer. I signed off on the settlement on November 3, 2011. But if … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1175],"tags":[32,9,436,213,487,68],"class_list":["post-10318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-facts-of-life","tag-how-lawyers-drive-clients-crazy","tag-law-and-government-agencies","tag-law-and-the-courts","tag-personal-injury-lawsuits","tag-problems-with-lawyers","tag-settlement-negotiations"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t