« Ind. Courts - "A call for a moratorium on executions" | Main | Ind. Law - "Tough abuse law makes detectives of animal officers" »

Sunday, August 09, 2009

Ind. Courts - "Chiropractor, attorney accused of scam: Accident victim says her saga painful; federal case alleges insurance fraud"

Andy Grimm has the very long story today in the Gary Post Tribune.

[Crystal Kennebrew's first visit to] "a Hammond chiropractic clinic [that] called to set up an appointment for a free "10-point" examination" after she was rear-ended in a car crash:

began a months-long saga of modern-day ambulance chasing, complete with dubious conduct by her chiropractor and the Ohio-based attorney that staff at Hammond Spine & Rehab urged her to hire.

At that first visit, a representative of the law firm Magelaner & Associates signed her as a client in the waiting room. During her 12 subsequent trips to Hammond Spine & Rehab, her doctor cajoled her to keep coming in to compile bills to add to her claim to an insurance company.

"They told me I had to keep coming for 10 visits, 'I've heard about people who only went to nine visits, and they only got $700,' " she said.

"If you missed, they were right on you. I stopped going, because I was feeling worse and worse. I didn't care about the money, I just wanted to feel better, and I didn't think I could pay for it."

After five months and 13 visits, Kennebrew was dropped by Magelaner after she stopped going to the chiropractor, and complained repeatedly that the clinic and her lawyer wouldn't let her see any bills.

She settled her claim with an insurance company on her own for $5,900. It's far more than she figures she would've gotten if she'd never gone to the chiropractor or hired a lawyer, but after fixing her car and paying $2,100 to Hammond Spine, she figures she'll have $500 or less left. * * *

Kennebrew may have been part of an elaborate, modern-day version of classic "ambulance chasing" that just skirts state laws preventing lawyers from soliciting clients face-to-face.

Her attorney, Thomas Magelaner, and his Akron, Ohio-based firm are defendants in a federal civil lawsuit by Allstate Insurance Co. The lawsuit alleges he is part of a complex network of attorneys and chiropractic clinics that defrauded the insurer of millions with claims for fraudulent or unnecessary care.

In a phone interview and in court papers, Magelaner denied Allstate's allegations, claiming the insurance giant is seeking to smear his name in an attempt to drive away his clients. * * *

Magelaner said his firm spends "a fortune" on advertising and mailings. He also pays representatives to go to police stations to review crash reports and find names and addresses of accident victims.

Those records are available to anyone who requests them, said Heather Neal, Indiana public access counselor.

Further, the practice is not against the law, so long as the attorney or someone who works for him doesn't directly contact -- by phone or in person -- the prospective client, said Donald Lundberg, secretary of the state Supreme Court Disciplinary Committee.

They can contact clients by mail, provided the correspondence is reviewed and approved by the Supreme Court.

And insurance companies are free to call accident victims as soon as someone files a claim and talk about a settlement. Magelaner said his success at winning larger settlements for his clients is why Allstate has targeted his firm for the lawsuit, both as a scare tactic and to smear his name with prospective clients.

"Insurance companies are in business to settle as quickly and for as small an amount as possible," Magelaner said. "Our job is to make sure ... our clients are compensated fairly."

At least two of the law firms named in the Allstate suit, which was filed more than a year ago, have been dismissed from the case.

"We're going to be dismissed out of that case soon, too," Magelaner said.

Magelaner, however, does not hold a license to practice law in Indiana, state Supreme Court records indicate.

The sole attorney in his office admitted to the Indiana bar, partner Bradley D. Keating, had his license suspended for at least part of the time the firm represented Kennebrew. Indiana Supreme Court records indicate he was not current on the continuing education requirement necessary to keep his license in good standing.

Magelaner said Keating operates the firm's Indianapolis office, located in a building next door to one of the other chiropractic clinics named in the Allstate lawsuit. However, Magelaner said, the best number to reach Keating was at the firm's Columbus, Ohio, office. The Post-Tribune was unable to reach Keating.

Records in Marion and Lake county courts do not show either Keating or Magelaner listed as ever having filed a lawsuit in either jurisdiction.

But, Lundberg said, an attorney whose license is suspended is barred from practicing law-- advising a client, contacting an insurance company on behalf of client, much less filing cases or appearing in court-- until their license is back in good standing.

A letter to Hammond Spine signed by Magelaner -- by a proxy with the initials "KO" -- dated the day after Kennebrew's first visit, states "our firm" represents Kennebrew.

Kennebrew said she never spoke to Keating during the two months he was purportedly her attorney, though she did talk to Magelaner more than a dozen times on the phone, at the number for his Akron office. Magelaner never mentioned Keating.

The only time Kennebrew ever saw Keating's name was on letterhead, and when he signed the letter from the firm formally informing her she had been dropped as a client.

There is much more in the story.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 9, 2009 09:03 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts