Mark Christopher Lewis

Mark Lewis

I am sorry that you feel that the firm did not provide satisfactory representation in your personal injury case. I see that your chief complaints are that we took a year to settle your case, we reduced the amount of your settlement to pay a medical provider, and you felt that you only spoke to me personally 5 times during your case. As of the date of this writing you have not picked up your settlement check that is waiting in my office. I would be happy to speak with you personally when you do pick up this check; however let me address your concerns in writing now. The life cycle of a civil case, or how long it will take the case to settle can be months or even years, and depends on a number of factors. This was explained to you prior to and during your representation. Most of the time that elapsed in your case before settlement was spent waiting for you to complete treatment, gathering medical records, presenting a demand package to the insurance company and negotiating reductions with medical providers so that you could receive a larger settlement. As explained, amounts paid to the medical providers from the proceeds of your settlement were reduced significantly based upon the Illinois Health Care Services Lien Act (IHCSLA). While medical providers are obliged to sign off on IHCSLA amounts to settle your case, they do have the option to bill you (the patient) if the firm does not secure a full release in exchange for the payment amount. Your medical bills are your responsibility, not the firms. We discussed this and per your directive secured full releases from all medical providers in your case. The firm reduced its fee to cover a portion of one medical provider's payment that did not want to provide a full release for the IHCSLA portion. The balance of the amount due this provider, in exchange for a full release was taken from the proceeds of your settlement per our conversations. You spoke with me on or about May 15, 2017 and asked that the firm reduce its fee even further. I told you that I would not be willing to do this as the firm needed to be compensated for the work provided. This upset you and you demanded that the closing statement for your case be forwarded to you immediately. Upon receipt of your closing statement, you should have noticed that you were provided a further reduction in legal fees to assist in the payment of the medical services provider mentioned. You make no mention of that fact in your review. Lastly you state that you only spoke with me five (5) times throughout your representation. A careful look through the firm's practice management software shows that this firm has had no fewer than forty (40) phone contacts with you during the representation of your case. On average that is more than three (3) times a month. No fewer than 20 of those contacts were with an attorney. Again, my apologies for what you perceived as a horrible and potentially life threatening experience with my office. I hope that this response provides some clarification to the events leading up to the successful settlement of your case and explanation as to why you have to pay medical service providers who provide treatment to you after an accident and why the firm deserves to be compensated for the work provided on your behalf to secure your settlement. Please feel free to contact me or a member of my professional staff if we can be of further assistance in concluding this painful chapter of your life and get you the proceeds of your settlement that are waiting for you in the office.