February 2003 Newsletter
Dear Friends:
The wonderful holiday season of 2002 is now behind us. We truly hope that you had a very joyful and meaningful holiday season. We assure you that we had a most wonderful holiday season. We are also wishing you the very best as we begin a New Year. May you achieve your goals and be richly blessed during the year ahead.
My staff and I have reviewed each and every matter on which we are working in this office. As part of the New Year, we have reaffirmed our strategic long-term plans on each and every legal matter we are handling, and continue to follow-up on these long-term plans and strategies on a weekly basis. As most of you know, my staff and I meet on each and every case once a week during a case meeting. This is in addition to the work that we perform on the legal matters and legal cases that we are handling on a day-to-day basis. I am sure that you can see the benefit and value of reviewing each and every matter at a once-a-week case meeting.
I am pleased to tell you about the case of Ms. H. and her two children. Ms. H. and her two children were driving in their car, and were obeying the laws, and doing everything just as they should. As they were traveling in their car visiting and making plans, another driver who was not paying attention and not keeping a lookout, negligently crashed into Ms. H.'s car. As a result of this crash, Ms. H. and her two children were all injured. Fortunately, there were no broken bones, nor any head injuries. Ms. H. and her children, however, did, in fact, suffer real physical and mental injuries that required medical care and treatment. After Ms. H. and her children recovered, we submitted written demands to the insurance company for the negligent, at-fault driver. We negotiated with them and were able to resolve the claims for Ms. H. and her children without filing lawsuits and without going to trial. I think that you will find quite interesting the comments that Ms. H. had about the quality of legal service that she received at this office. With her permission, I report below her comments for you:
“Mr. Zielke picked up my case from nothing and made it into something. I had three attorneys before him who did absolutely nothing but pursue their own careers. I am so happy I finally found an attorney who has been a real blessing.
He always returned my phone calls in a timely manner and was always available. He gave me as much time as I needed and never rushed me. He spent valuable time with me. He was patient and kind with me. He put as much effort and heart into my case as if it were his own personal case.”
Signed: /s/ Ms. H.
Several of you have asked me about what medical negligence cases are. Medical negligence cases are basically when an individual is injured as a result of medical care or treatment that falls below the care that a reasonably prudent doctor would give a patient under the same or similar circumstances. Let me explain. Medical negligence cases are very similar to the automobile collision cases that I also handle. We all know how to drive. If a driver of a car runs a stop sign and crashes into us, we know that the driver was negligent for missing the stop sign. It is the same in medicine. In medicine, there are stop signs which doctors recognize. Since we are not all doctors, many of us do not know what stop signs look like. Doctors, however, are trained to look for medical stop signs and know what they are. If they miss a stop sign and cause an injury to a patient, they were negligent for missing the stop sign and causing injury. This is basically a medical negligence case. The various types of medical negligence cases I handle include representing small children who have been injured as a result of a doctor missing a stop sign during the delivery process. These types of injuries are often quite severe, leaving a small child with brain damage that will last a lifetime. Other types include anesthesia mishaps, surgical mishaps or misadventures, prescribing the wrong medication or drugs, giving the wrong treatment, doing bad things that injure patients, and/or failing to do things that would make the patient better and/or well.
Because of my background in medicine (former anesthetist), as well as my abilities, skills, and experiences as an attorney, many attorneys and clients refer medical negligence cases to me. In this regard, I was quite pleased to receive a letter from my colleague and prominent Ellensburg attorney, Scott Sparks. I have attached a copy of the letter [1] which my fellow member of the Bar recently sent to me. I thank Mr. Scott Sparks and all of you for your confidence in me. I truly enjoy handling injury cases of all types, including medical negligence and automobile collision cases.
As most of you know, I apply the medical model of care, concern, and service to the practice of law. Based upon my abilities, experience, and service as an attorney, as well as my medical background as an anesthetist, the Court often appoints me to act as the eyes and ears of the Court and serve as a settlement guardian ad litem[2] in minor cases, or as a guardian to bring cases on behalf of minor children. In this role as the eyes and ears of the Court, I conduct investigations into the reasonableness of settlements on behalf of minors, or individuals who have been declared incompetent, report to the Court my findings, and see to it that the interests of the minor or the incompetent are protected. Further, I am asked to make decisions regarding the management of funds on behalf of minors and incompetent individuals. This includes serving as a trustee of a trust or setting up a trust established to manage the funds, invest the funds, and make disbursements to minor children and incompetent individuals. Serving as trustee and seeing to it that funds are managed properly and disbursements are done in the best interests of these individuals is another area that provides great professional satisfaction to me and fits with my practice model, being a counselor at law.
Again, please know that I, and my staff, truly wish you a joyous and prosperous New Year. We look forward to working with you and providing great service and great legal representation on your legal matters. Of course, we always welcome your referrals in medical negligence injury or death cases, automobile collision injury or death cases, all types of negligence cases causing physical or emotional injury, and wrongful death. As many of you know, I also handle certain other types of cases, such as property line disputes, real estate matters, commercial litigation, business formation, appeals, medical powers of attorney, and estate planning. You can refer with confidence, knowing that your friends and family you send to us will receive great service and great representation, as well as that personal, confidential, and caring touch.
We look forward to hearing from you at any time. Never hesitate to contact us, e-mail us, call us, or just stop by for a cup of coffee. We look forward to this New Year, and, in particular, working with you and serving you as your counselors at law.
Very truly yours,
Robert A. Zielke
October 8, 2002
“After reading your September/October 2002 Newsletter I felt compelled to inform you of a conversation I had recently with one of my former clients who is now one of your current clients. This woman, who you know has been the victim of some very unfortunate circumstances, had called merely to let me know her confidence in the future was returning, and her optimism was due to actions you had taken on her behalf and the counseling you had provided. She was extremely pleased with your assistance and your role in her overall recovery and she thanked me for referring her to you.
As you know from your understanding of my practice, most of my days are spent with individuals who are in various stages of crisis and thus the bulk of my time is spent resolving their conflicts in a reasonable fashion. Reading your newsletter is a welcome respite and an excellent reminder that our duty goes beyond the problem at hand and extends to the 'whole' of the individual client. Thank you for taking the time and energy to prepare and distribute the newsletter.”
Most Sincerely,
Scott R. Sparks, Attorney at law
A guardian ad litem is a special guardian appointed by the court to prosecute or defend, in behalf of an infant or incompetent, a suit to which he is a party, and such guardian is considered an officer of the court to represent the interests of the infant or incompetent in the litigation.
