Why Won’t A Personal Injury Attorney Take My Case?
- September 30, 2019
- Sandy
If you’ve been injured by the negligent actions of another, you’re probably going to contact a local personal injury law firm to learn about your legal rights, and get representation. Whether you were hit by a distracted driver or you slipped and fell on a wet floor at the grocery store, you want justice and full compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, property damage, pain and suffering, and more.
However, there are several factors lawyers need to weigh before taking your case to court with them.
Why Won’t A Personal Injury Attorney Take My Case?
You only get one shot to win your case. If you file a claim and don’t have sufficient evidence to prove to the court that a specific accident caused your injuries, you run the risk of getting your case dismissed.
No one wants that. You certainly don’t, and neither does your attorney.
With that said, it’s not uncommon for attorneys to be selective about the types of accident injury cases they choose to prosecute.
There are several possible reasons why your personal injury case was turned down by an accident injury attorney. Understanding the reasons why your case may have been turned down by a local law firm could help you find the right avenues for your case; be it in-court or out of court.
The Four Most Common Reasons Why Personal Injury Attorneys Turn Down a Case
You Haven’t Sustained Enough Damages
The most challenging aspect of a personal injury case is persuading the court that your bodily injuries were caused by the accident and are not a “pre-existing” condition.
For example, one of the most common injuries involve those that affect the spine, such as neck and back injuries. The insurance industry and their army of lawyers often defend themselves by saying, ‘everyone develops back pain over time,’ and they typically dismiss your injuries as being common or unrelated to your accident.
Even if you didn’t have any pain prior to the accident, defense attorneys will try to persuade the court that your current injuries are not new, leaving it up to you and your legal team to prove otherwise. In some cases, injuries such as bone fractures are easier to link to the forces exerted in an auto accident.
There Isn’t Someone to Hold Accountable for the Accident
California’s personal injury laws are complex. In order for a personal injury victim to win their case, their attorney must prove the following four essential elements:
- A person owed you a duty of care;
- The person who owed you that duty of care breached it;
- The breach of that duty of care resulted in your accident; and
- The breach of that duty of care resulted in your damages.
In some personal injury cases, the underlying cause of the accident may have been an “Act of God,” which there would be no at-fault party against whom to file a claim.
For example, you’re driving on the interstate and you drive into a rainstorm. The roadway begins to flood and you lose control of your vehicle, leave the road, and strike a tree. You have sustained major injuries and you were injured in a car accident.
Who can you hold responsible if no one else was involved in your accident?
In an accident such as this one, there isn’t a party to hold accountable for monetary compensation. Therefore, an attorney would not be able to take the accident case because all of the essential elements to win a personal injury case cannot be met or proved.
The Lawyer You Spoke with Isn’t Qualified to Handle Your Case
In the State of California, there are about 75 unique areas of law.
Personal injury law covers approximately 15 different areas of practice such as: products liability, workers’ compensation, medical malpractice, car accidents, premises liability and many other areas of personal injury law. If an attorney turned down your case, it’s possible that the attorney’s practice experience and qualifications aren’t a good fit for your particular personal injury case.
For example, if you call a personal injury lawyer and ask them to represent you in a divorce process, that’s not their focus!
That’s like calling a sushi restaurant and asking for pizza. Sure, both businesses can make you dinner, but they don’t usually have the right ingredients or technical experience to get you the best results.
Attorneys also rely heavily on client referrals to generate new cases and clients for their firm. Therefore, it’s vital to a firm’s reputation and continued success to select cases its attorneys are confident they can win. If an attorney declined representing you in a case, it’s probably in your best interest.
One way to save yourself time, effort and energy is to simply ask the attorney about their experience and qualifications handling cases such as yours before you schedule a consultation.
Your Case is Too Big or Too Small for the Law Firm to Handle
Each and every personal injury case is unique. In some personal injury cases, the “at-fault” party is an international corporation with millions of dollars set aside for defending against personal injury claims. In cases such as these, a personal injury law firm may not have the financial resources to bring your case to trial against a multi-billion-dollar corporation. Some law firms only want to handle high-value cases and will, in turn, decline to handle a good case simply because the firm will not earn enough in legal fees.
At The Barnes Firm, our attorneys take pride in serving personal injury victims who have injury claims of all shapes and sizes. Our attorneys are dedicated legal professionals who prosecute smaller cases as well as some of the largest cases throughout the State of California, and the nation. Our passion is obtaining justice for our clients. If you haven’t hired an attorney and you have questions about your personal injury case, simply contact the California personal injury attorneys at The Barnes Firm for your free and completely confidential case evaluation.
Do You or Your Loved One Have a Personal Injury Claim in California?
At The Barnes Firm, our attorneys care about you and have experience in every area of California personal injury law.
Please don’t hesitate to call our friendly and caring law firm to discuss your legal rights and how to pursue a civil lawsuit to recover the following economic damages:
- Lost wages
- Medical expenses
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- And more.
We’re more than happy to review your personal injury case 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. If someone is at fault for your bodily injuries, call us any time. Our caring and friendly personal injury lawyers are ready to provide your free consultation to help you learn more about your legal options.
The Barnes Firm (800) 800-0000
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