7 Reasons Why a Personal Injury Lawyer Will Not Take Your Case
Common Reasons Why a Personal Injury Lawyer Might Not Take a Case
Contrary to what many people think, personal injury lawyers often turn down cases presented to them by prospective clients. There are many different reasons that a lawyer may decide they do not want to take on a case that could be a source of income. Some lawyers that turn down a potential case may also refer the person whose case they are rejecting to another lawyer or law firm that might be more suited to that particular case.
Money
Many personal injury lawyers work on a contingency basis. This typically means that the client does not have to give the lawyer money for their fees unless they win their case and have agreed in advance to give the lawyer a percentage of their award or settlement. If a personal injury lawyer that works on contingency does not win or settle their case in their client’s favor, they have still (most likely) put a lot of work and time into the case, as well as they likely will have still had to pay for the things it takes to run their practice.
If a lawyer does not think that they will be able to get money for all of the work they are going to do and to cover the overhead costs they have, they may not want to take your case.
Statute of Limitations
A statute of limitations is a law that sets a maximum amount of time from the time a person was injured or became aware or their injury, through which they are allowed to file a claim. If the statute of limitations on your claim has expired, many personal injury lawyers may not want to take your case.
Weak Case
If your case will be difficult to prove because of lack of evidence and/or other mitigating factors, many lawyers will not want to do the work on a case that they know will be difficult to prove.
Conflict of Interest
Lawyers have an ethical duty to not represent clients that they know they may have an adverse interest with. As well, in many situations it can be seen as a conflict of interest if a lawyer has a relationship with a party in a case that exists independent of the professional relationship between the lawyer and those involved in a legal matter the lawyer is involved in.
Specialty Areas
Many personal injury lawyers specialize in one or a few areas of personal injury law. If you have been injured or become ill as a result of a cause that a personal injury lawyer does not have the experience, knowledge and/or skills that they feel are necessary to adequately represent you, they will likely not take your case.
Personality Conflict
Unless a lawyer is desperate, they will likely not take you on as a client if they think that they will have a difficult time working with you because of your different personalities and/or communication styles, etc.
Previous Rejections
If you have a case that has been released or dropped by another law firm or firms, subsequent lawyers that you approach will likely think twice about taking on your case.
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