Personal Injury Lawyer. People
wonder why attorneys will not accept their case and this article is
written to give a brief overview of the issue. After someone has been
injured they may believe they have a case but cannot find an attorney
who will accept the case. In order to help you understand why we list
below some of the things that may be helpful for your consideration.
How the Accident Occurred - Personal Injury Lawyer
One
of the earliest considerations by a personal injury attorney is how
the accident actually happened. In order to hold someone financially
accountable, they had to breach a legal duty or in layman’s terms
do something wrong that caused the injury.
It
is not enough that the injury happened on a premises or that the
injuries are severe.
An
example would be that in a car
accident you
were supposed to yield the right-of-way but the other driver impacted
your vehicle. Who was at fault for an accident is a question that the
judge or jury must answer in Texas.
In
order to have a viable personal injury claim, the injured person must
be able to prove that the other party was at fault and that their
contribution or fault was less than 51%. If you may have been partly
at fault, an attorney may decline your case because the monetary
award will be reduced or eliminated depending on the extent of your
fault.
Governmental
immunity in Texas is another reason why attorneys may not accept
personal injury claims against school districts or governmental
entities.
In
short, a personal injury attorney will analyze whether legal
responsibility can be established and gauge the likelihood of
success.
The Injury is Not Serious Enough- Personal Injury Lawyer
Attorneys
hear all the time “I could have been killed”, that is not an
element of legal damages submitted to the jury in Texas.
Another
saying that is a red flag to an attorney is “it’s a matter of
principle”. Generally, that type of claim does not put any butter
on the bread for the lawyer.
Personal Injury Lawyer
Personal
injury attorneys are looking for damages as a gauge of the expected
recovery for handling a case. Speculative damages whether financial
or injury do not really help you obtain an attorney.
In
personal injury cases, how bad you are hurt is the most important
factor in a case. If your injuries are minor, an attorney may pass on
your case because the expected monetary compensation will likewise be
minimal.
Additionally,
the cost of developing the testimony to prove up your injuries has to
be factored into the analysis of the attorney. If the cost of the
expected depositions exceeds the expected return on the case, an
attorney most likely will not accept the case.
You Sound Like You Have Talked to Many Other Lawyers - Personal Injury Lawyer
We
believe it is extremely important for personal injury victims to
select the right attorney for their case. This includes making sure
that the attorney has expertise in the subject area of the accident
and that they are a good personal fit.
Nevertheless,
many cases are turned down because the potential client appears to be
looking to select the attorney based upon the feedback they receive
on the value of the case.
It
is almost impossible for an attorney to give a client a value of the
case before the attorney knows all of the facts including the
insurance coverage available by the defendant. Victims should be wary
of attorneys placing a value on a claim after the first consultation.
Further,
if you have been “released” or “dropped” from another law
firm the attorney will be wary of the case from either a liability
perspective or an unreasonable expectation perspective.
The Economic Reality of Pursuing the Case - Personal Injury Lawyer
Personal
injury attorneys take cases on a contingency fee basis. This requires
the lawyer to make a business judgment on each case they agree to
handle.
Factored
into that business judgment is such things as, the amount of time
that the attorney expects to spend on the case, the cost out of
pocket for the attorney to develop the case and the expected fee.
The
attorney must consider whether the time effort and money are “worth
it” for the attorney to handle. The more experienced and successful
the attorney the higher that number becomes.
To
put this in perspective, defense attorneys are paid by the hour for
each minute they spend on a matter. The client also must pay upfront
all of the case expenses and the defense attorney gets paid whether
they win or lose the case.
Another
situation that proves difficult is when the personal injury victim
has substantial injuries and also huge hospital obligations for the
treatment. This can come into play when the available insurance to
cover the damages is insufficient and the hospital would receive the
first money out of a case.
In
short, attorneys who handle personal
injury cases on
a contingency fee basis must be business people and accept or decline
cases after considering how much time and money they must expend to
move the case forward balanced against the fee that they expect to
receive should they be successful and the risks in the case. Personal
Injury Lawyer.
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