What to Do When Your Personal Injury Lawyer Drops Your Case
When your personal injury lawyer tells you that your case no longer seems to have merit, don’t think your case is dead. Find another personal injury attorney. As in all types of professions, there are many lawyers, but not all of them are willing to invest all their time and effort in your case.
Personal injury lawyers generally hire their clients on a contingency basis. That is, they do not charge their clients unless they obtain compensation for the client, either through an agreement or a court ruling. To settle with the defendant, usually one or more insurance companies, an attorney negotiates with the defendant and has to show, directly or indirectly, that the plaintiff has what it takes to negotiate, the strength of the plaintiff’s case: demonstration of a good understanding of the applicable laws and the plaintiff’s willingness to do everything possible to convince a jury in a potential trial that the law is on the plaintiff’s side. In other words, the plaintiff’s attorney has to show the defendant’s attorney that his arguments will prevail in a court of law and that the jury will find in favor of the plaintiff. The size of the settlement that your personal injury attorney will be able to negotiate is directly proportional to his or her ability to convince the opposing attorney of the merits of the case.
Some attorneys, however, only take slam-dunk cases, those cases they believe will be settled quickly and easily with the defendant; These attorneys may be unwilling or unable, for various reasons, to spend the time necessary to investigate the case sufficiently, with expert witnesses as necessary, to prove the merits of the case. These are the same attorneys who may take your case assuming it’s an easy case, but then discover they need to work harder to reach a reasonable settlement. Once they realize this, some lawyers tend to drop the case and declare it dead, telling their client that they don’t believe the case has any merit. They leave their client hanging in the wind. Obviously that is not fair and may jeopardize your case.
Just in the last few months, two clients brought me two cases that other attorneys had dismissed as dead cases. The first had been abandoned twice, by two law firms, and the second had been abandoned by a lawyer. I was able to convince the defendants, the insurance companies, of the merits of these two cases and that my client can win a court judgment. The first case settled for $300,000 and the second for $120,000. However, these settlements were the result of the time and effort I invested in both cases: researching applicable laws, the facts of the case, city codes, and obtaining sworn statements from expert witnesses and eyewitnesses. This is the kind of time and effort that every client expects from a personal injury attorney, and every client deserves from their attorney.
You, the client, need to make sure that you find one of those good lawyers to work on your case. Interview the lawyer and make sure your case gets the attention it deserves. Otherwise, you may find yourself without a lawyer at some point, as some lawyers have a habit of dropping cases and the reasons are always the same. If your attorney leaves your case dead, don’t give up. Consult another attorney; most personal injury attorneys provide free consultations.
Ramzy Ladah, Esq.
Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer, PLLC