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Here are 11 reasons why your attorney will drop your personal injury case
Sometimes, even personal injury attorneys turn down cases. There may be a variety of reasons why and you, as the client, may not understand them all. However, all hope may not be lost on your case, just because one attorney drops your case, doesn’t mean another one wont pick it up and run with it.
When we say drop your personal injury case, we mean you hired an attorney for your personal injury case. However, a couple of weeks later you get a letter from him saying he no longer represents you.
1-Your attorney got your accident report and you were at fault, he may drop your case
In many car accidents, accident reports are not ready as soon as you hire an attorney. If your accident was in another state, it could be weeks before an attorney can get his hands on it. Some, not all, clients lie about what happened in the accident or how it happened.
You may have retained an attorney and when he gets the accident report, he drops your case. Maybe he does not like how the police report is written, and you were found at fault in the accident. Just because a ticket was not written in the accident does not mean blame was not assigned.
2-Liability issues
The key issue in any personal injury case is liability. If no one was found liable for the accident, you may not have a case. The accident report may reflect the officer could not determine who was at fault. They will usually put 26 as the contributing factors on the police report. This usually indicated the officer could not determine who was at-fault for the accident.
If you are found partially to blame for your own injuries, the court will assign a percentage of fault to each party, including you. This will then reduce the amount of your settlement.
3-Your personal injury attorney may drop your case if you are a problem client
Oh yes, there can be problem clients. If you call excessively, this leaves less time for the attorney to work on your case. Some other problem areas that attorneys may drop your case
The client completely ignores or disregards the attorney’s advice: Attorneys may advise their clients to do things to help themselves. Such as, go to the doctor or specialist, or get an estimate on their car. However, the client does nothing or expects the attorney to do everything.
- Client has unrealistic expectations: You may think your case is worth a million dollars, with 1500 dollars in property damage and 2500 bucks in medical. The math is not in your favor and the attorney knows it. You will not be a good client for any attorney with that way of thinking.
- Excessive Communication: Contacting your attorney every day through phones calls and email does not get your personal injury case settled faster. Most law offices don’t have time for clients that have excessive, unneeded communication.
4-Conflict of interest
If an attorney has a conflict of interest he may drop your case.
5- your personal injury attorney may drop your case If you have engaged in criminal behavior
This will speak for itself. It you have engaged in criminal behavior before your personal injury case, you certainly need to let your attorney know. Attorneys find it hard to represent clients who defrauded an insurance company years ago for frivolous injuries.
You must let your attorney know about everything. Remember, he is there to protect you. If you are dishonest with him about your criminal behavior, he may drop your personal injury case
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6-You have not done your part, as a client
When it comes to personal injury cases, there are many ways that you can fail to fulfill your obligations as a client. Examples include ignoring your attorney’s requests for important information, failing to verify final medical bills and more. Failing to fulfill your obligations can reduce the value of your case.
7-Does not have sufficient evidence
A personal injury attorney might not have sufficient evidence to support their client’s case.
Examples
Car Accident with No Witnesses or Cameras-If a client is involved in a car accident and there are no witnesses or security camera footage. Without any evidence, it could be the case of what he said, she said.
Slip and Fall with No Documentation
In a slip and fall case, if the injured party doesn’t seek immediate medical attention or fails to document their injuries or the reason that caused the fall, it could be difficult to prove.
8-The attorney doesn’t have the experience or resource and may drop your personal injury case
Here are a few examples of how an attorney lacking experience or resources in handling a personal injury case may drop your case.
- Inadequate Legal Research
- Limited Knowledge of Medical Issues
- Difficulty Negotiating with Insurance Companies
- Lack of Expert Witnesses
- Ineffective Discovery
- Limited Understanding of Settlement Value
- Insufficient Courtroom Skills
- Resource Constraints
- Technology Shortcomings
- Ineffective Case Management
- Limited Network and Connections
- Lack of Local Knowledge
9-Personal Injury Attorney May drop your case because you have no damages
General damages are not very easy to put a dollar amount onto. However, something like your car’s property damage is. The estimates on your car are usually in a dollar amount If you don’t have any damages, your attorney could drop your personal injury case.
Examples of general damages
- Pain and suffering
- Disability
- Disfigurement
- physical injury
- impairment
- mental anguish
- lack of mobility
- loss of companionship
- career loss (no longer able to work because of injury)
Special Damages
Special damages are economic damages caused by a car accident, if you don’t have any, your attorney may drop your case. These are damages that can be easily calculated.
Examples of special damages
- Medical expenses
- ER visits
- Doctor’s visits
- Imaging services
- Lost wages and future earnings
- physical therapy
10-Time constraints
If you had a car accident in TN, and you waited 6 months to hire an attorney, he may not even take your case. On the other hand, if he does take your personal injury case, he may drop it due to time constraints, The statute of limitations in TN is only a year. If the attorney feels he can’t put your case together in time, he may drop your case.
Remember, all states have different statutes of limitations for personal injury cases. Some are a year; most are 2 years. Don’t wait till the last minute to try and hire an attorney for your personal injury case,
11-State jurisdiction issues
If your accident occurred in Texas, and you live in California, but the person who hit you lives in Ohio, there may be an issue with what the attorney can do.
If a lawsuit must be filed, it will be filed in the county that the person who hit you lives in. So, if that’s in another state, he may drop your personal injury case.
12-You never see a Doctor
In some cases, people never go see a doctor to get checked out. They assume they have a case without any medical documentation of injury. If you are not hurt, you may have your case dropped because the attorney doesn’t have any grounds to sue. Seeing a auto accident doctor is the single most important thing you can do to help our attorney build a case.
Your attorney dropped your personal injury case, now what?
If your attorney dropped your personal injury case, you still have options. Just because he dropped it doesn’t mean you don’t have a case. Get on the phone and start calling other attorneys or researching the internet. There are many options for you to find another attorney. Contact us, we can help you find one.