Dean Kropp
Dean Kropp
was Swiss trained for the pastry chef position at Chicago’s
own
Swiss Air’s Le Chateau Pastry Shop in 1981. Kropp graduated
from the Joliet Junior College culinary arts program in
1979. Throughout his career, he had to write and organize
pastry manuals for the hotels and kitchens where he worked.
You can visit www.deanofchefs.com for more background
information on Kropp’s culinary career.
Kropp became familiar with the Culinary Olympics after he
won his first Bronze Medal in the National Restaurant Show
at Chicago’s McCormick Place in 1982. Kropp contacted the
German Chefs Association in Frankfurt, Germany, where they
turned over the history of the Culinary Olympics that began
in 1900, to Kropp directly. Once the information was
translated from German to English, Kropp rewrote the history
with the help of author Glenn Meicht. The History of the
Culinary Olympics is available on the www.deankropp.com website.
Kropp continued his writing studies by attending comedy
writing and rewriting classes at the American Comedy
Institute in Manhattan for two years. Kropp combined this
with acting and performing classes in Manhattan as well.
These classes were extremely valuable for Kropp as he
learned the art of rewriting the original writing. Kropp
also attended creative writing classes at Marymount
Manhattan College.
After Kropp heard a radio interview with Judge Judy stating
"If you have something to say, then write a book." Kropp set
out to find a publisher for his book idea in 2007, which is
an art all in itself. www.abonetopickbydeankropp.com
Visit Dean on YouTube at :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsWeIV1Ia8c
"A Bone to Pick is an inspirational, true story of
Dean Kropp's uphill fight for his rights for
compensation and healing. How bad can it get? When
an IRS audit is your best experience, you know
you're in a battle."[The book] is sprinkled with
Chef Dean's own stress-relieving gourmet pastry
recipes awarded to those who helped him through this
journey. Also included are photo exhibits of some of
Kropp's rehabilitative back exercises and typical
form letters you could receive from companies you've
trusted to be on your side.
"A Bone to Pick delivers a clear, honest (although
scary) understanding of what to expect after being
injured in an accident and, more importantly,
explains how to successfully navigate a system
hell-bent on leaving you injured by the roadside.
Don't wait until you have an accident. Be prepared.
Read A Bone to Pick!"
— Gioya McRae, A Mocha Mind Book Review
Books-And-Authors.net: Where did you grow up and was
reading and writing a part of your life? Who were your
earliest influences and why?
Dean Kropp: I grew up in a small town southwest of Chicago
called Lockport, Illinois because of the locks in the canal.
Reading, writing, and arithmetic played a big part in my
life growing up. When I researched my book reports, whether
it was for high school or culinary school, I always spent
extra time to make sure I had everything right for the
paper. Thoroughness pays off. My mother and father were my
biggest influences on me because they always pointed me in
the right direction. They inspired my creativity from the
get go. Once I know what I was doing, I blazed my path and
haven’t looked back..
Books-And-Authors.net: Briefly discuss your new book A BONE
TO PICK. Why did you write this book? What accident did you
have that was the motivation for A BONE TO PICK? How can A
BONE TO PICK help others?
Dean Kropp: My book depicts the truth about insurance
companies. I wrote the book because it was such an unusual
string of events that happened to me, and I learned a lot of
inside information about the insurance scene. Who would
think that not one, but three accidents, would be highly
unlikely for any human being to experience in their
lifetime. One accident is enough to deal with. It was the
first car accident on August 6, 2000, that motivated me to
write the book because of the independent medical exam. My
goal with helping others is this; when people buy their car
insurance, they really don’t know what they are getting for
coverage. Ok, it looks good on paper, but there is a big
“but” there. It is not written in the insurance contract how
the injured party is allowed to heal. I didn’t know that
massage therapy was covered with No-Fault insurance. My
outline for the Declaration of Injured Persons’ Rights,
should be a good start for informing people what they are
covered for in case of injury.
Books-And-Authors.net: Advice from a friend was, "You had to
be the case?" Explain? Why do you think your attorney was
not helping you more?
Dean Kropp: Attorneys have from 200 to 500 maybe 600 cases
going on at one time. New York State has a three-year
statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit. New Jersey has
a two-year statute for filing. If you get lost in the
shuffle, you could miss that time frame, which I didn’t even
know about. Then you are really screwed unless you have a
very good attorney. “You have to be the case,” means you
have to keep an active interest as the case moves along. You
can’t just drop it in the attorneys lap and expect him or
her to take care of you. You have to stay on top of the
process, which isn’t any fun when you are injured.
Books-And-Authors.net: Why were you sued?
Dean Kropp:
I was sued because the hospital didn’t follow procedure for
billing my No-Fault GEICO contract directly. Even after I
was cut off from my no-fault benefits, healthcare
professionals still have to bill the no-fault insurance
company. In my second car accident, my neurologist had to
sue GEICO for his bill after he examined me and I wasn't
even cut off from my no-fault benefits yet. He followed the
correct procedure. Many healthcare providers don’t want to
deal with suing the insurance company, so they bill the
individual’s primary healthcare provider or they sue the
injured party directly. The system is poorly organized in
that respect.
Books-And-Authors.net: How did you come up with the
Declaration of Injured Person’s Rights?
Dean Kropp:
I had the IRS audit at the same time that I was being sued.
The IRS sent me the Declaration of Taxpayers Rights. I
thought this was great, so I derived the idea from the IRS.
Books-And-Authors.net: What would you change about the
independent medical examination?
Dean Kropp:
I would remove the word “independent” and put in the word
“mandatory medical examination” and make the doctor sign a
statement saying that he won’t lie about the condition of an
injured person.
Books-And-Authors.net: How did you handle representing
yourself in court?
Dean Kropp:
I resorted to my pastry chef management skills by organizing
the binder complete with my medical documents and presented
that in court, like I did my pastry recipe manuals in the
hotels where I worked. I am amazed that more attorneys don’t
follow that procedure. It seems like if there’s enough
medical evidence, and a person has lost his or her career,
then there is a case for negligence.
Books-And-Authors.net: In all how many doctors did your
insurance company have you see independently? Do you feel
any of these independent doctors were for the insurance
company more than they were for you?
Dean Kropp: My insurance company, at the time, sent me to
two of their doctors. The doctors were not interested in my
best interest. The reason being was I had too much medical
evidence showing injury, which those doctors ignored. I
declined the third doctor, a neurologist, as requested by
the insurance company, because I had not been referred to my
own neurologist to diagnose my injuries.
Books-And-Authors.net: If someone has an auto accident
today -- What would be your first advice to them?
Dean Kropp: Make sure the police come to the scene and they
have an accident report. Don’t turn down medical assistance
at the scene. Don’t rush out and get an attorney right away,
unless they know an attorney that they trust to help them.
Shop the case around to see what other attorneys say. The
Internet is a great way to do just that. And research the
attorneys. I feel the best situation for being referred to
an attorney is by somebody that had a similar experience to
mine. Keep track of the medical reports and medical
expenses. Keep a chart of the money spent on getting to and
from doctors, appointment dates, prescription medication,
etc. It can all get pretty messy after two or three years go
by and you have to go back and reconstruct that
information.
Books-And-Authors.net: After seven years of your life
entailed in "this mess" you mention three conclusions -
Briefly mention each one and expand a little on your
conclusions.
Dean Kropp: The main issue here is the “rights of the
injured party” and how the insurance company treats them
after an accident. This is the biggest problem. The injured
party has the right to heal. When the insurance company
denies that, it feels like a major crime has been committed.
We pay for insurance contracts, but the insurance companies
are doing whatever they can to get out of paying on the
benefits. I paid GEICO for 12 years-amounting to over
$600,000.00 plus interest for car insurance. What do I get
when I need the benefits-cut off from getting them.
Books-And-Authors.net: Any remarks or feedback from your
insurance company regarding A BONE TO PICK? Did you send
them a copy of A BONE TO PICK?
Dean Kropp: I informed them that I wrote the book when they
sent me a survey wondering why I fired them. A second party
also informed them about my book because they were going to
have the insurance company become an advertiser in their
company. The company said that they don’t want the insurance
company to be a sponsor because of how they treat their
injured policy holders.
Books-And-Authors.net: How much research did you have to do
on your own throughout the seven year period on insurance
and accident victim laws?
Dean Kropp: I didn’t have to do that much research because I
was living the experience and the story just unfolded in
front of me. If I were a reporter on the outside, I probably
would have not dug up as much information that I did as the
injured party.
Books-And-Authors.net: Do you feel you are now advocate for
accident victims and insurance laws and regulations? If you
can create a law for accident victims and insurance laws and
regulations, what law would that be and why?
Dean Kropp: Yes, I am an advocate for accident victims. No,
I wouldn’t create any new laws. My plan is to get the
Declaration of Injured persons’ Rights on everybody’s car
insurance contract.
Books-And-Authors.net: What's next?
Dean Kropp: Word on the street is; after one has written a
book, one must spend a year marketing the book. I will be
doing just that for a while. I am still finishing up a
couple cases, so I might have to put out a second edition of
this book. Time will tell on that.
Books-And-Authors.net: You are/were a pastry chef -- What
is your favorite recipe for dessert tonight that would be
quick and easy to prepare? My favorite recipe is the
chocolate mousse recipe on page 140.
Dean Kropp:
Chocolate Mousse.
You
will need your mixer or handheld mixer with the wire
whip attached, two medium metal mixing bowls to whip
the cream, a medium pan, rubber spatula, serving
dish or bowl, piping bag with a startube, or two
soup spoons. Ingredients:1 cup of bittersweet
chocolate finely chopped? cup of half and half 4
ounces or 1 pint of whipping cream. Fresh fruit in
season, strawberry or raspberry. Whipped cream for
garnish. Can of whipped toppingDirections:1. Put the
metal bowl in the freezer. This chills the bowl so
the cream whips up faster.2. Cut up the chocolate
bar into fine pieces place it in a medium sized
bowl.3. Bring the half and half to a boil on the
stove and then immediately pour it over the chopped
chocolate. Let it melt and with a hand wire whisk,
mix it until it is smooth.4. While the chocolate
mixture is cooling, whip the four ounces of cream
until it is almost stiff. Pour in the chocolate and
fold the chocolate into the cream carefully. You can
pipe the mousse onto the serving dish or bowl with
the piping bag and startip. Use the fruit for
garnish and you can use the can of whipped topping
to make a decoration on the mousse. Secret: you can
use the chocolate mixture for dipping strawberries.
Make a separate batch. Wash and dry the strawberries
and then dip them in the chocolate mixture for
chocolate dipped strawberries.
Books-And-Authors.net: Do you have any hobbies?
What are they? How do they enhance your writing?
Dean Kropp: I work with two writers from the Frommer Travel
Guide books. I help them with some writing and research on
the hotels and restaurants that they cover. This keeps my
writing skills up and I cook lunch for them as well. My
hobbies are cooking, exercise, and cooking for the homeless
when they call on me. People fall on hard times and I like
to help out whenever I can. I shop, cook the dinner and
serve it, and they love it. I did a simple meat sauce with
chunky vegetables over pasta one night and it was a big hit.
Yes, I am an advocate for accident victims. No, I wouldn’t create any new laws. My plan is to get the Declaration of Injured persons’ Rights on everybody’s car insurance contract.
