Opinion ID: 1184351
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Martinez accident.

Text: Several days after his automobile was struck from the rear in a minor traffic accident, Ralph Martinez and his sister, Mary Paramo, retained petitioner as their representative for claims arising out of the accident. Martinez testified that when his sister informed petitioner that she had been injured in the accident, petitioner directed her to consult Dr. Schuchman for treatment of those injuries. Several months later, the Adams-Crenshaw Medical Center sent documents to petitioner which showed that Martinez and Paramo, along with Richard Cobarrobas, Jr., Ms. Paramo's son, who was an occupant of the car at the time of the accident, had been treated at the center for accident-related injuries. These documents, along with a statement of legal services rendered, were forwarded by petitioner to Allstate Insurance Company, the insurer of the automobile which struck the Martinez vehicle. Without further contact with Martinez, Paramo or Cobarrobas, petitioner negotiated a settlement of personal injury and property damage claims on their behalf. Upon receipt of the sum negotiated, petitioner contacted Martinez, and at a meeting which ensued, Martinez signed a release of further claims and the settlement draft issued by Allstate. According to Martinez, he also signed, at petitioner's instigation, similar documents on behalf of Paramo and Cobarrobas. Petitioner then issued checks drawn on his trust account in the amounts purportedly due the three occupants of the car after deduction of petitioner's fee and the amounts paid for medical treatment. The disciplinary board found that petitioner knowingly submitted false claims to Allstate when he forwarded to Allstate the medical documents showing that Martinez and Cobarrobas were treated at the medical center. Petitioner concedes that neither Martinez nor Cobarrobas availed themselves of the medical center's facilities; petitioner contends, however, that the evidence does not support the finding that he knew of the documents' falsity when he submitted them. Petitioner testified that his first knowledge that something was amiss was the result of a telephone conversation with Dr. Schuchman almost a month after meeting with Martinez. Upon learning from the doctor that the medical center had no records to substantiate the billings issued in the names of Martinez and Cobarrobas, petitioner stopped payment on his checks payable to them and reimbursed Allstate for the amount of their settlements. The record, however, contains substantial evidence to support the board's finding that petitioner did participate in a scheme to defraud Allstate; the most compelling and direct evidence in this regard is the testimony of Martinez and Paramo. Martinez testified that at the initial meeting with petitioner both he and Ms. Paramo told petitioner that only Ms. Paramo was injured. She corroborated this testimony at the committee's hearing. Martinez further testified that at the meeting at which petitioner issued his trust account checks, he (Martinez) expressed surprise at the notation on his check reflecting disbursement of a portion of the settlement money for medical expenses. He told petitioner that he had not been treated at the medical center. Martinez recalled that petitioner responded: That is the way I got it fixed so you could get some money. In addition, Martinez testified that petitioner cautioned secrecy and offered to return the checks to the insurance company if Martinez did not want to accept them. The only challenge offered to Martinez' testimony was petitioner's contradictory recollection. Petitioner testified that at his initial meeting with Martinez and Paramo, they advised him that all three occupants of the car were injured in the accident but that they had been unable to secure medical care because they lacked resources to pay a doctor. Petitioner testified that he suggested they consult Dr. Schuchman because he did not require advance payments by patients injured in traffic accidents if insurance coverage could be verified. In regard to the meeting with Martinez, petitioner denied that Martinez registered surprise about deductions for medical expenses. In addition, petitioner testified that Martinez took Allstate's settlement drafts and unsigned releases with him and returned these documents, signed by Paramo and Caborrobas, either the same night or the next day. This version of the meeting with Martinez contradicted, however, the explanation of the Martinez matter which petitioner had previously filed with the State Bar. [7] Dr. Schuchman, although specifically directed by the local administrative committee to unearth any evidence to explain the origin of the false billings, was unable to produce the requested showing; he maintained that the billings were merely an error. The absence of evidence indicating the source of the false bills and the obvious degree to which the local administrative committee credited Martinez' testimony support the conclusion that petitioner knew that the documents were false when he submitted them to Allstate. We conclude that petitioner has not sustained his burden of proving the disciplinary board's findings erroneous. [8] (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6083, subd. (c).)