Settlement Agreed to But Not Being Paid

I sustained a knee injury on the job in 1997. I am a florida resident. In the early part of December, 2000 my attorney negotiated a settlement with the carrier to which I agreed to accept. In the early part of January, 2001 I signed all the necessary papers and he assured ne that I would have my money by the end of February. It is now mid April and I still have not received any monies due me. When I call my attornies office to inquire as to the status of the settlement I can't get a straight answer from him or his staff as to what is happening regarding the settlement. My question is, Is this a reasonable waiting period after the signing of the documents? Can I go somewhere on my own to find out what's holding the settlement up without running into a problem with my attorney of record? I am a retired senior currently out on Social Security Disability.

settlement

My disability rate is 20%( back injury), I was aked by the carrier attorny if I wanted to settle my case.
the question is how much of a settlement should I demand or if there is any rules or tables to how much to demand
thank you

Call the Bar Association and ask them to look into it. Usually a settlement check is made payable to the claimant and the attorney. The attorney usually has the claimant sign and then he deposits it into his escrow account and writes a check from his escrow account to the claimant and/or pays the medical bills if that was what was agreed to. Sometimes unethical attorneys will deposit the check into their escrow accounts and use the money for personal use or they will rack up interest on the money for a couple of months before paying it out. Naturally, they keep that interest for themselves.

If you don't want to call the Bar Association, then write a letter (mail it certified, return receipt requested) to the attorney demanding your settlement money within x-number of days or you will go to the Bar Association. Don't worry about upsetting the attorney -- he is supposed to be working for you -- and you will probably never use him again after this anyway since he didn't keep you up-to-date.