After you suffer injuries in an accident that was someone else’s fault, you have the right to seek damages in a personal injury lawsuit. When you are searching for trusted local personal injury attorneys to represent you, though, you might find that some of them will refuse to take on your case. Although this may seem strange – and although it doesn’t happen often – there are some common reasons why lawyers won’t take a particular case.
Learn more about the reasons why lawyers may reject your personal injury case and what you can do about it.
1. The Lawyer May Have a Conflict of Interest
Conflicts of interest are situations where the lawyers that you want to represent you cannot take on your case without violating laws or ethical rules lawyers must follow. Such conflicts of interest may include:
- Having a relationship with the accused party
- Already representing someone else in the accident case
- Having worked for the accused party’s insurance company in the past.
It’s always better for an attorney to reject your case immediately by recognizing a conflict of interest. If the lawyer doesn’t notice the conflict until you’re several months into the case, it can delay or jeopardize your chances of winning a claim.
2. The Value of the Case Is So Small That You Don’t Really Need a Lawyer
Small-value cases may not work well with the fee structure that our personal injury lawyers use – contingency fees. We do not charge our clients a retainer fee or an hourly fee for our representation. Instead, we work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you do not pay us for our representation unless we win your case.
Paying us a percentage of a small-value claim might not be the best financial outcome for you, especially when the insurance company is not as likely to contest the case as strongly as it might when the value of the case is large. The insurer is more likely to simply cut you a check for your financial claim when the cost is small, meaning you probably don’t need injury attorneys to fight for you.
3. The Circumstances Surrounding the Accident Are Unclear
When the circumstances of your injury accident are unclear, an injury attorney might choose not to take the case. Some issues that might cause this decision include:
- It’s difficult to prove who was at fault.
- It’s not obvious whether the accident caused your injuries.
- The severity of your injuries is in question.
- The location of the accident occurred near a state line and might not be in the lawyer’s jurisdiction.
- Your actions potentially played a significant role in the accident.
- Investigating the accident might require specialty skills and knowledge that the lawyer doesn’t possess.
4. The Statute of Limitations for Filing a Claim Has Passed
When you need our injury law firm to represent you, we always recommend calling us for a free consultation as soon as possible after the accident. Hiring our personal injury lawyers early lets us begin investigating the case while the facts are still fresh in the minds of witnesses. It also ensures that we don’t run up against the statute of limitations.
The statute of limitations sets a deadline for filing your injury lawsuit. If you wait too long to file, judges almost certainly will dismiss the case and leave you with no option for trying to recover damages. Relevant statutes of limitations for our injury law firm include:
- Minnesota Stat. § 541.05 gives injury victims up to six years from the date of the accident.
- Wisconsin Stat. § 893.54 gives injury victims up to three years from the date of the accident.
Exceptions to the statutes of limitations in Minnesota and Wisconsin exist, but they only apply in rare cases. Our team can discuss these instances with you.
5. There Seems to Be a Personality Conflict Between You and the Attorney
When you hire legal representation after an injury accident, you and the people in the law firm need to be able to work together. During the case, you’ll be discussing very personal information, including your health, mental well-being, financial situation, and any driving or legal problems you’ve had in your life.
After meeting with you, perhaps the attorneys do not feel there’s a good personal fit with you. They might not be sure you will trust them enough to be completely honest about your accident and personal situation. If so, they might refuse to take on the case because of the challenges that they anticipate.
You also have the right to not hire an injury law firm if you don’t feel like the personal connection with the lawyers is a good one.
What You Can Do After a Lawyer Rejects Your Personal Injury Case
Just because one lawyer rejects your personal injury case doesn’t mean that your claim is invalid. You can follow a few different steps to try to move your personal injury claim forward.
Ask for a Referral
Perhaps the lawyer who decided not to take on your case knows another local law firm that would be better suited to your situation. It never hurts to ask for a recommendation.
Organize Your Evidence Better
Perhaps you did not make your reason for seeking a claim clear to the first attorney. Consider writing down the facts of the case to make sure you don’t forget anything when you’re speaking to the legal team. You don’t have to treat it exactly like a job interview, but it’s helpful to go into the initial consultation with the injury lawyers well-prepared.
Don’t Get Discouraged and Stop Trying
If you believe in the legitimacy of your case, one lawyer’s rejecting your personal injury case shouldn’t deter you. Reach out to another injury law firm as soon as possible.
If you start doubting your claim and get discouraged, you might wait to seek another opinion. The longer you want, the greater chance you’ll have of missing the statute of limitations for the claim. It’s also more difficult for injury attorneys to track down witnesses and investigate the accident the longer you wait. Keep pressing forward by seeking help from another highly regarded personal injury law firm.
You Can Always Seek a Second Opinion Regarding the Reasons a Lawyer Won’t Take a Case
Call Tyroler Leonard Injury Law to Discuss Your Claim
Regardless of the reasons a lawyer won’t take your case, you always have the right to seek a second opinion from another injury law firm. At Tyroler Leonard Injury Law, we offer a free consultation about your accident claim, even if another lawyer decided not to take on your case. There’s always a chance we will decide not to take on your case, too, but you can trust us to be completely honest with you about why we didn’t take the case and whether we believe you have a legitimate claim.
If we decide to take on your case – and if you decide to hire us after speaking with us – you can count on us to keep you informed at every step. We can even explain what personal injury law is and what rights you have as an injury victim. Our injury lawyers make themselves available to answer any questions our clients have.
To learn more or to request a free consultation, call Tyroler Leonard Injury Law today at (651) 259-1113. You are under no obligation to hire us after this initial discussion.