Legal Question in Workers Comp in California
Attorney not doing the job
I have been asking for MILLEAGE reimbursement since 2007, excessively endlessly. Last Friday attorney finally responded, problem is there are no penalties. This tells me he NEVER sent in the MILLEAGE after countless requests, begging.... Who pays penalties him? He also tried to make me close my case sight under duress, there was a discount, I refused there were outstanding liens an addendum making me responsible, next time I saw him he changed the paperwork the discount as gone. I have gotten absolute no help from him in years. Si I called the adjuster myself, got an X-ray, MRI, and a check I was to get in aug. that my attorney never did anything about after I told him 2 weeks later I did not receive. I called adjuster fixed myself, ther should have penalties on that too, but attorney never filed with court, why should I be without penalties and discount he tried to bribe me with. What can I do I am unable to find attorney to take over.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Attorneys get zero payment for obtaining mileage payments.
So they handle they requests that ultimately get them fees and put off the mileage until they have extra time (and they never have extra time).
The Mileage Forms are right on the state's Workers Comp site... there are different ones for different years.
Penalties are due IF all the exact forms are clearly completed, they contain only mileage for treatment (people put in drives to their court dates and drives to depositions and drives to complain at their attorney's office, and none of those are medical mileage).
If the forms are completed perfectly and served with a proof of service on the adjuster and defense attorney and THEN the adjuster refuses payment, THEN PENALTIES can be requested in a Penalty Petition.
If the mileage in the forms is for treatment 'non-certified' by UR, the adjuster won't pay for that, there would have to be a trial.
All of this, your legislature expected Applicant's Attorneys do perform for free. (It's hard to work for free.)
This could be why you are having great difficulty in finding counsel to do this.
GO TO THESE FORMS: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/forms.html
use the Mileage Forms for each year... here's this year's: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/I&A_mileageForm.pdf
And here's LAST years (and for trips the last half of 2011) http://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/I&A_mileageFormJuly2011.pdf
Mail completed forms showing ONLY MEDICAL trips (pharmacies, docs offices, therapy trips) to the adjuster along with a Declaration of Proof of Service stating you mailed it on a particular date at a particular mail pick-up spot :
http://www.dir.ca.gov/csmcs/ProofOfService-ByMail.pdf
You can attempt a bar complaint but if you need this attorney to work for you later, you'll get nothing.