Wednesday, June 20, 2012

"JUST KEEP ME INFORMED... I AM THE CLIENT, YOU KNOW "

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"JUST KEEP ME INFORMED.. I AM THE CLIENT.. YOU KNOW "

 

 LET’S READ THESE 

CALIFORNIA  CODES FIRST...



California Rule of Professional Conduct § 3-500 - Communication

A member shall keep a client reasonably informed about significant developments relating to the employment or representation, including promptly complying with reasonable requests for information and copies of significant documents when necessary to keep the client so informed.

California Business and Professions Code Section 6068 (m)(n)

It is the duty of an attorney to do all of the following:
  (m) To respond promptly to reasonable status inquiries of clients and to keep clients reasonably informed of significant developmentsin matters with regard to which the attorney has agreed to provide legal services.

   (n) To provide copies to the client of certain documents under time limits and as prescribed in a rule of professional conduct which the board shall adopt.


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 Part 1


One weekend, You and your Family were on your way to visit your wife’s ailing relative who had surgery at Cedar Sinai Hospital in the west side of town in Los Angeles. You were heading North on the 101 FWY.  As you exited on Melrose Ave, you turned left. While you were at the intersection of Melrose and Rossmore Ave awaiting for a green arrow to make a left turn, out of nowhere it seems, you suddenly see out of the corner of your eye, a late model black Rolls Royce Corniche, doing 65 mph,in a 35mph zone, and runs the red light, and crashes into your vehicle as you were trying to clear the intersection. You had the right of way.
 


The impact was so severe, that your young 8 yr old son  and your 3 yr old daughter have to be extracted with the jaws of life by the Fire department and airlifted and transported to Children’s hospital on Vermont Ave, with severe head injuries, and other broken bones. Your wife sustained broken ribs, a dislocated clavicle, and a broken left femur. You as the driver, sustained multiple lacerations to your face, and pieces of glass were encrusted on your scalp and eyes..Your sternum was broken from the steering wheel smashing into your chest when the air bag failed to deploy, and both of your legs were smashed. Both you and your wife were in the hospital for two weeks. Your children were still hospitalized by the time you and your wife were allowed to go home.


By the time you see your kids, their doctor tells you that your young 3 yr old, may have permanent brain damage, and that your 6 yr old, may need another brain surgery to alleviate the brain swelling. His prognosis is not encouraging. You are told they would need to stay hospitalized for a few more weeks.


Since your accident, you haven’t had the chance to contact anyone, including your own employer and insurance carrier. So on this day, you decide to call your insurance agent to report your accident which includes the total loss of your 2002 Honda Minivan. Your employer wants to know when you can come back to work. You tell him you are still on a wheel chair and you can’t estimate a comeback date. Right before you call your insurance agent, your next door neighbor who has learned of your tragedy, knocks at your door, and wants to know if there is anything he could do to help.


You start to break down when you tell your neighbor about your kids who are still hospitalized. Your concerned neighbor advices you it may be a good idea to contact a lawyer to handle things for you. You tell your neighbor you’ve never had to use the services of a lawyer before and you don’t know of anyone. Your neighbor tells you about a “SUPER LAWYER” he has heard about on a radio show on Saturday mornings.


Your neighbor further tells you, this lawyer is very good and according to his radio show, he was once a “judge” on some Hispanic TV show similar to “The People’s Court”. In his Radio propaganda, your neighbor tells you, this “Judge”  portrays himself as the “People’s Lawyer”, and one of the “BEST LAWYERS” in California. His office is somewhere in the Mid Wilshire area.


Your neighbor tells you he has the telephone number for this Lawyer, at his home, and goes out to get the number. When he comes back, you are on the phone with your insurance agent who insists on obtaining a “recorded statement” from you, before approving  a car rental expense.


With a throbbing headache getting even worse, you tell your neighbor to please call this “Judge/Super Lawyer” from the Radio show and make an appointment to see him. The time is 4:59 p.m. and when he tries to call, all he gets is some Voice mail message telling the caller “How important his call is, but that the office is now closed and that there is no one available to answer the call, but to leave a message” Your neighbor leaves your name and number and says that he is recommending you from the Radio show and asks for this “Judge/Super Lawyer” to please contact you in the morning.


The next day, is 1:30 p.m and this “Judge/Super Lawyer”, whose after hours phone message said the caller’s call was “very important” has not called you yet. So you decide to call his office at the number given to you from your neighbor.


Your call is answered by an arrogant sounding female receptionist who rattles the following words at a 1000mph speed. “Thank you for calling, (xyz) law office, how may I direct your call ?” Right as you try to begin telling the purpose of your call, this arrogant sounding female receptionist, tells you “Please hold”. While you are on hold, all you hear in the background, is the voice of the “Judge/Super Lawyer”’s during one of his radio shows yelling and screaming at some poor Hispanic for signing a document without reading it first. “ Who is the stupid one in this case huh ?” you hear the “Judge/Super Lawyer” tell the radio caller in Spanish. “Well I thought it was a....” begins to utter the Hispanic caller in response.. “You thought WHAT ? Huh ?? If you were here I’d slap your face silly for doing that. You see, all you Hispanics out there do this same crap all the time.  You sign stuff without reading it first, and when you guys get yourselves in trouble, then you call here and want me to fix it...BUT who is to blame ???  YOU GUYS FOR BEING STUPID” says the “Judge/Super Lawyer”...to the poor caller....


“Thank you for calling, (xyz) law office, how may I direct your call ?”  You hear the same arrogant receptionist say once more.  For a moment you feel like hanging up, but then you remember your neighbor’s “praise” for the “Judge/Super Lawyer”. So you begin to tell  her your purpose for the call. As you begin to speak, she abruptly interrupts you mid way and tells you she’ll need to transfer your call to the “Appointment Secretary”. And once again, you find yourself hearing the “Judge/Super Lawyer” talking to someone else on the radio. This time is some Hispanic woman telling the “Judge/Super Lawyer” how “wonderful” he is and how grateful all Hispanics should be for having a “great” lawyer like him on “our side” “Thank you my love. I already have a girlfriend, She is from Colombia, but if I didn’t, I know who to call hahaha” you hear the “Judge/Super Lawyer” tell the woman caller in Spanish.


“Appointments” you hear a woman say with a boring voice resembling that of the cartoon character Mr. Magoo.




The “earliest” appointment available with the “Judge/Super Lawyer” is ten days away, at 10:30 a.m., because the “Judge/Super Lawyer” is finishing up some BIG case in court, says the boring woman to you and his “schedule” is all tide up.  “Make sure you bring ALL your paperwork and reports connected to your accident, and make sure you are on time OK ? If you don’t bring everything, or if you are late for your appointment, you wont be allowed to talk to the lawyer” says Ms. Boring.


After you hang up, your neighbor comes by and was anxious to know if the “Judge/Super Lawyer” had called you . You explain the situation and the appointment date. You then ask your neighbor to drive you to the rental car agency so you can rent a temporary car so you can go and visit your kids who are still hospitalized.


At the car rental agency, you rent a car but pay for it out of your pocket, because your insurance had not approved the rental, since you did not give them a “recorded statement’. All this time, your wife has been in bed and unable to move around the house. She is in constant excruciating  pain and on very strong pain pills. Just like you.


A day before your appointment, you go by the Police department to get a copy of the police report of your accident. During your stay in the hospital, you were told by one of the nurses, that the person who had crashed his Rolls Royce into your car, was a snobbish movie studio executive who just prior to the accident, had been drinking heavily and was arguing with some low grade movie starlet on his cellular and did not pay attention to the traffic signal light and had floored his accelerator as he was trying to rush back to the studios to sign some documents.


On the day of your 10:30 a.m.  appointment, with the “Judge/Super Lawyer”, you and your wife arrive 15 minutes before the scheduled time. You become concerned when you see his entire waiting lobby resembling a County Welfare waiting room. Everyone is Hispanic, and from the conversations amongst themselves, it becomes obvious to you that they all come after hearing some tall tale on the “Judge/Super Lawyer”’s radio show.  Next thing you know,  you look at your watch and it now reads 11:45 a.m. and you still have not been called. You say to yourself, so much for promptness and tardiness.


After another 20 minutes, your name is finally called by yet another arrogant sounding “legal assistant” No good morning, no sorry about the wait, no would you like a cup of coffee or some water, just an arrogant “Please follow me this way” while she is leading the way at a fast rate of speed towards a long hallway, leaving you and your wife somewhat behind.


But instead of being brought before the “Judge/Super Lawyer”, you are taken to a large conference type room where the arrogant sounding “legal assistant” formally introduces herself, and asks for ALL “paper work” you were told to bring. “I thought my appointment was with the lawyer on the radio..  You know the one who is or was a judge on a TV show, and one of the “Best” attorneys in California” you say to the arrogant “Legal Assistant”


“I am the Intake person for the firm Sir OK.  I’ll be evaluating your case. After that, I’ll make my recommendation to the lawyer you heard on the Radio. If he has any questions , he’ll come in and talk to you OK ?? NOW.. What kind of paper work did you bring with you today Sir, may I see it ??”  She says it in a demeaning, demanding and condescending  voice.  Your wife gives you a look that says, “We are already here, might as well go through with it”.
You reach in your manila envelope and pull out the three page police report obtained the day before as well as your hospital admissions receipt and you hand them  to her. “Is this all you brought” she says with an incredulous sounding voice and a look that says “what kind of moron are you ??”


“You don’t have any doctors’ reports from the Emergency room ? “ she asks somewhat exasperated. “No miss. I was unconscious when they took me to the hospital after the accident, so I did not get anything. Just my admissions paperwork. But I am sure you can get it if there is one available” You say to her in an explanatory voice. “Yeah, but you were told specifically to bring EVERY TYPE of paper about your accident  remember ??”  She says with a  “shame on you look” on her face. "It’s Ok. I’ll explain it to the lawyer. In the mean time please fill out this paperwork for you and your wife and the attorney will come in and talk to you if he has any questions OK ??" She says while rushing out of the room.


While she is out of the room, you tell your wife is probably a good Idea to leave, but she once again tells you to wait and see what the “Judge/Super Lawyer” has to say...


After another 20 minutes go by, when the door suddenly opens and in walks a short and fat bald headed man, looking like a friar in a cheap C&R suit and a bright green bow tie and suspenders holding a yellow legal pad and says: “Hi, I am the attorney you heard about on the Radio, Melissa tells me you were involved on some type of accident on Melrose Ave Correct ?” You look at your wife in disbelief because the wheel chairs and the police report should have given him a clue of that fact, but you calmly say: “Yes Sir some guy ran the red light and crashed into us” the “Judge/Super Lawyer” looks both you and your wife over like if you were a couple of Lepers and then gives you a forced smile and says: “ That’s terrible..  We gonna make those Dirty Bastards pay, you’ll see. We gonna teach them creeps not to run red lights and hurt people, that’s what we’ll do specially our clients..  And also get you some nice and handsome compensation for your pain and suffering. The way I see it, we’re looking at an easy 6 figure case, for each one of you..or 7 if we go to trial,.  I understand your kids are still in the hospital is that correct ?”  Your whole body was floating in the clouds just hearing  this “Judge/Super Lawyer” speak, that your wife had to pinch you in the arm to come back to reality. His voice reminded you of Napoleon Bonaparte or a small Dictator.


“ Ah.. Yes..  They are still at the Children’s Hospital on Vermont” you say...Then he says ”Don’t chu worry about anything. We gonna put our best investigators on your case right of way, and get to the bottom of this..You just take it easy and leave the mess for us...I am an expert at cleaning messes. And let me tell you this is a mess I’ll be glad to clean up. Just sign or retainer agreement here, and here and your wife can sign here and here, and we’ll get on this one right of way.. we charge the standard 33 1/3 percent If we get it settled within a year, after that our standard fee is 40%.  BUT the minute we file a case for you in court, our fee goes up a little bit to 50%  By the way, did you like our last Radio show?? I was hot to trot this last one..  I had a special message for all Mexicans out there in our last show. You see I am a People’s lawyer. I protect our own..  You know what I mean ? When our people suffer, I suffer. BUT when they screw up, I let them know about it.  I fight for our people you see, but I hate our people when they are just plain dumb.  I tell them Don’t sign anything. And what do they do ?? They sign stuff without reading it.  I tell them to record the insurance defense doctor when he is examining them, and they don’t do it either..  They are like kids...  Stupid kids..  But listen, I gotta go, I have to go and kick some butt in court on another case in 20 minutes and I am already late. It was a pleasure meeting both of you OK. And if you need anything else from us. Anything at all, just give me a call and well take care of everything OK ??, Melissa here will take you back”
The now identified arrogant legal assistant “Melissa” says to you sounding like she is passing clandestine gestapo secret information  “Our Investigators will be in touch with you in few days to obtain more information about how the accident happened. In the mean time don’t talk to anyone, just have them call our office OK..  Did you park in parking lot downstairs ? The girls up front will validate your ticket” And with that you find yourself back in the Welfare like lobby, thinking that maybe that’s how a “Judge/Super lawyer” has become “One of the best lawyers in California”


 You and your wife leave the “Judge/Super lawyer’s” office and go straight to see your children at the Children’s hospital. Upon your arrival, you discover that your younger daughter is out of serious danger, but the fate of your son has taken a turn for the worse. The doctors tell you they would have to do another surgery to alleviate some brain swelling and its outlook does not look promising. Nevertheless you authorize it. While at the hospital, you are told to stop by their admissions department. Once there you are told, that your car’s insurance policy’ medical limits have been exhausted, and you’ll have to become personally liable for your children’s  treatment. You agree and you and your wife leave the hospital.


Once you get home, you have an urgent message from your employer, requesting an immediate call back. When you reach your employer, you learn that your position as chief chef, at the Marina Del Rey Restaurant, has been given to someone else, and your 12 years job position has been terminated, but you are given 10 day sick pay, along with 2 months vacation pay, plus a two weeks severance pay. You were the sole bread winner for your family.


That night, you quickly calculate your savings along with the moneys given by your employer could probably carry you for at least 9 months. Your own doctors have told you, it may take a year or so of physical treatments, skin grafts,  and Physical Therapy to get you back into shape.  You are currently wearing a thorax brace to keep your sternum from getting further damage. You also have pins in both legs and metal braces to speed healing. Your wife condition seems stagnant. You see her take more pills than food. At 3 a.m. in the morning she is wide awake and you hear her crying under her pillow.


2 weeks later, you get a call from a Hispanic man called “Humberto” who tells you he is the “lead” investigator at “your” lawyers office and would like to come by your house and ask you a few questions. Thinking that perhaps the ball is finally beginning to roll in your case because the “Judge/Super lawyer”’s”lead” investigator is investigating your case, you   rapidly agree to meet “Humberto” in two hours.


When “Humberto” arrives at your home, you quickly discover that he is not an official investigator trained to investigate accidents, but merely an office employee whose job is to file cases in court, or obtain copies of court documents, visit potential new clients in the hospital and getting retainer agreements signed by them, gather information from clients, like names of witnesses, pictures of wrecked cars, and any other information not previously given. You find it hard to communicate with Humberto, because English is his second language, and is only been in the United States for 2 years from Argentina. But he loves to talk and talk despite his language deficiency.


He tells you he  was a tailor for 16 years in his Argentina before coming to America. He’s been at his current Job with the “Judge/Super lawyer” office as a “Filer” for only 3 months. Before that, he did construction work with his cousin and some other odd painting jobs here and there, just to make a living. He “refers” lots of cases to the “Judge/Super lawyer” from friends in the construction field, or while on the road, he passes out business cards when he sees accidents etc. He gets an “Extra” $50 dollars for every “new” client he refers to the office who ultimately signs up with the “Judge/Super lawyer”. There are two others who do similar work as he does. He even works on weekends.


He then makes you re-live the entire accident and you see him take notes in Spanish. The information you give him is the same contained in the police report. You ask him what’s the “status” of your case thus far, and he tells you that to the best of his knowledge, your case has been assigned to “Carla”, the “Judge/Super lawyer” “personal” para-legal who may or may not has sent a representation letter to the Movie Exec’s insurance carrier.


You ask Humberto if it’ll be possible to get copies of all the paperwork you and your wife signed when you went to the “Judge/Super lawyer”’s office, and he tells you he doesn’t know how to get them for you, but he suggests you call the “Judge/Super lawyer”’s office for assistance.


After 3 months your son is finally out of danger and is allowed to come home and join  your daughter who was released a month prior. You are told that your son will need nursing care, 24/7 for al least another month. They give you names of available nurses who do that type of work on their days off. Their price is extremely high.


On the fourth month after your accident, you get a call from “Carla” telling you she is having problems getting Medical reports ”for accident purposes” from your doctors and she tells you, you must switch your’s and your entire family’s medical care right of way, to one of “their” doctors who would do all medical reports “their” way and could work on a “lien” basis. She tells you the name of their “Ortho” doctor whose clinic is in the San Fernando valley. You live in West Covina. An appointment has already been made by her for the following week.


While on the phone, you ask her for the status of your case, and she tells you she cannot tell you anything at this point, but that everything is going fine. You ask her for copies of all the paperwork you and your wife signed, and she tells you, they normally don’t  do that free of charge, and she will have to “charge”your case file for the copies.


 At their new “ORTHO” you and your family are made to redo everything previously done by your previous doctors all over again. New blood work, new MRI’s, new, testing, etc, referrals to skin doctors, neurologists the works. When you suggest that all such testing and treatment has been done by your other doctors for your entire family and all they need to do is get their reports, you are told by one of the “ORTHO’s” nurse that it’s all routine to order everything new.  You are made to sign a document called  “DOCTORS LIEN”


Six months go by after your accident and you still have not been provided with any copies of your signed paper work as promised by “Carla”. You would also like to get copies of your own doctor’s reports, since the only thing in your possession are copies of paid receipts paid by you for your children’s treatments. You would also like to ask the “Judge/Super lawyer” if you could get reimbursed for all those expenditures, including the cost of the rental car, which by now ran into the thousands. You did not have full coverage policy in your car, but it did include payment for a rental car. Your insurance company continues to refuse to pay for it.


2 weeks after your visit to their “ORTHO” there is a knock at your door. When you go to see who it is, you discover is some courier from some unknown pharmacy somewhere in El Monte, and he hands you 5 bags full of pill bottles for you and your whole family along with other orthopedic equipment, like heating pads, cooler type back braces for you and your wife, neck braces for all of you, crutches, walking orthopaedic moon boots, there are valium pills, vicodin, motrin, napproxen, codeine pills, liquid tylenol medicine for your kids, a nebulizer machine, a humidifier, bed pans, etc. You have never seen so much medicine or medical equipment in your entire life.  When you tell the courier you never ordered anything, he tells you your “ORTHO” had called their pharmacy and ordered all of that stuff for you. All you gotta do is sign his receipt. No payment is required.


After the courier leaves, you once again place a call to the “Judge/Super lawyer” office and once again you get the obnoxious and arrogant receptionist who says: “Thank you for calling, (xyz) law office, how may I direct your call ?”  You identify yourself, and you were about to ask for “Carla” when she tells you, “Please hold”


After ten minutes she comes back to the phone and says: “Thank you for calling, (xyz) law office, how may I direct your call ?” Once again you identify yourself and you ask to be connected to Carla, and she says in the caring voice of a drug dealer towards his customer: “I am sorry, but Carla is not available to take your call, would you like her voice mail” Then you say: “When do you expect her back ?” to which she tells you: “Please hold” after ten more minutes, she comes back to the phone and tells you: “Sir would you like Carla’s Voice mail? I don’t know where or when she’ll be back, I don’t keep track of her schedule, She is around here somewhere, she is just not at her desk, Would you like her voice mail Sir, I got another call coming”“Ok transfer me to her voice mail” you say, feeling there is no other alternative.  After a couple of phone clicks you hear the following message in a voice which reminds you of an old librarian: “Hi you reach extension 121, I am not available  to take your call. Your call is very important to me, please leave me your name and phone number or the case number you are calling on, and I will return your call as soon as possible Thank you”
You proceed to leave your name and number and ask for a return cal, and indicate your concern with payment for all the unordered medicine delivered to your home. The time is 10:45 a.m.


At 4:30 p.m., you decide to call Carla once again, since she has not returned your previous call. “Thank you for calling, (xyz) law office, how may I direct your call ?”  You hear the same arrogant receptionist once again. “ Extension 121 please” you say. “ I am sorry, but Carla has gone home for the day, would you like her voice mail” . Bit upset you tell her: “well I left her a message this morning, and she did not call me back, I am wondering what good leaving another message will do. What time is she there in the morning”


“ I don’t know what to tell you Sir. Like I told you this morning, I don’t keep track of her schedule. All I know is if you like to talk to her, you gonna have to leave her a voice mail message, and as soon as she can, she’ll call you back. She is usually very good at calling people back. Just leave her another message, she’ll call you in the morning” She tells you in a voice that says: “I could care less one way or another” “Would you like her voice mail Sir?, I got another call coming ”


READ PART 2 in our next post.....

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Feel free to leave us any comments  on this post or on any other.. Thanks...CLIENT ALERT

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