Legal Question in Personal Injury in New York

Re: settlement check

This is a standard practice to avoid having the client come to the office just for the purpose of signing the insurance company check to be deposited into the escrow account. The lawyer is obligated to distribute the settlement funds from the escrow account. However, you could insist upon signing the check in the office and/or request a listing of expenses and the calculation of the net result before signing the form. It is our practice to send a letter with the closing documents which lists the expenses and calculates the legal fee and the net result for the client. Our letter also explains the purpose of the power of attorney form which states that it is limited to making the deposit only. In this way, the client can feel assured that they have something in writing from the lawyer with the details. You should also be aware that you will receive a closing statement that the lawyer must file with the Judicial Conference of the State of New York. The listing of expenses on this form is also a type of assurance that these are proper types of expenses are permitted since the form would be reviewed by the judicial conference. The form allows the person being authorized to do anything necessary for the particular purpose stated on the form, so if the form is limited you should not be concerned by this language.

Re: settlement check

It is standard practice, but not a requirement, however without a POA, payment is delayed to all parties. If you dispute a particular expense, you always have the option of requesting arbitration.

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Re: settlement check

This is a standard practice but with the check to you must come the closing statement that gets filed and that lists all of the expenses charged.

Good Luck

RRG