Legal Question in Legal Malpractice in California
Settlement check
Scenario:
A simple personal injury case-about $1200 in medical bills that took over 2 years to settle and turned into a lawsuit because of attorney's negligance, including missed court dates, missed meetings with the claims adjuster, things not filed on time, etc. A settlement was finally reached and a check for $7500 was issued to me c/o the attorney. The attorney in question is now setting conditions about how the check will be dealt with and I don't get any of this money until I meet his demands to sign the check over to him and even at that point he writes that ''I will have to wait until the insurance check clears'' before I can deposit the check he will give me. This person has not instilled any trust in me due to his past performances. He has now had the check in his possesion since aprox. April 30, 2001. I want my money. What are my rights?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Settlement check
you can file a complaint with the state bar and have them determine if he is correctly handling the funds.
Re: Settlement check
In such cases, it is typical for the insurance settlement check to made jointly to the claimant and his/her attorney. It is not unusual for the attorney to expect you to endorse the check, so that he can deposit it into his client trust account, then disburse funds from there. Note that there probably are other things that need to be paid, besides the lawyer and yourself. For example, if any of the medical care providers had liens against your recovery, or if expenses for such things as medical records were deferred until settlement, those costs will come "off the top" before you and your counsel get paid. This is the standard procedure for resolving the case, and you probably should not suspect nefarious intentions by the attorney in asking you to sign off the check and wait for it to clear before his office disburses the proceeds.
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