It’s prudent to interview a few personal injury attorneys before deciding who to hire. Don’t give up if a few of them decline your case. Remember, the attorney needs to evaluate the potential of your case to determine whether or not they can represent you accordingly. Here are some of the top reasons why a personal injury attorney might decline your case.
1. If There’s Difficulty Establishing Liability
The attorney will first determine liability before taking your case. Simply because someone was injured it doesn’t mean that someone else needs to pay for the injuries. If the victim is responsible for the injuries sustained, there is no liability. Therefore, the attorney needs to evaluate and determine the right party to be held responsible for the accident.
2. Inadequate Amount Of Damages
The amount of money a particular personal injury case can be awarded depends on the damages the plaintiff has suffered. Damages, in this case, can range from medical expenses, property damage, mental anguish, lost time from work, pain, and suffering.
Remember, personal injury cases are mostly handled on a contingency fee basis. Therefore, the attorney should be able to justify taking the time and using the available resources to handle your case. If the amount of damages is considerably low, the attorney might not justify spending too much time or other resources on the case.
3. Defendant’s Limited Resources
An attorney might reject your personal injury case if he/she believes that the defendant doesn’t have enough resources to pay for the claim. In most of these cases, there is usually an insurance cover in place to pay for the damages to the victim.
However, there are cases where the insurance coverage will be denied and the third party will not have the right type of insurance coverage.
4. Too Much Time Required On The Case
Before taking your case, the attorney can first analyze how much time the case requires before settlement. If it’s expected to take a long time, the attorney might not receive the amount he/she invests in the case during the entire time. Additionally, the attorney might not be financially stable to take on this risk. On the other hand, if the case takes too long to be resolved, the attorney will not have enough time to handle other cases.
Basically, you need to understand that your attorney must always balance risk and reward before taking your case. If they choose to represent you, they will forego another opportunity. Therefore, they must expect a case to bring about a great reward to make their effort worthwhile.
5. Complex And Novel Issue
Your case might have a complex and novel issue such that your prospective personal injury attorney will feel that they lack the experience to handle it properly. Yes, other attorneys might decide to do a lot of research to understand the novel issue before diving into the case but eventually, it will take too much time.
If an attorney doesn’t handle particular types of personal injury cases, he/she might decline to pick the case. Some cases that might involve the federal court, governmental immunity and other types of jurisdiction matters, will be declined because the attorney wants to avoid any complications resulting from these.
6. Conflict Of Interest
Attorneys need to hold themselves to the highest degree of ethical guidelines. If they are in violation of these guidelines, they can lose their practicing license. On that note, a personal injury attorney is allowed to reject a case if there is an issue of conflict of interest. For instance, he/she might have represented the defendant previously or if the attorney feels there will be a conflict brewing up.
7. Poor Rapport With The Client
If your case is to go well, the attorney needs to establish a good rapport with you right from the start. On that note, the attorney might reject your case if he/she feels that they haven’t established a proper rapport. For instance, if the attorney feels that you don’t trust him/her, it’s easy to reject the case. They would prefer to reject the case beforehand rather than facing more difficulties midway.
In conclusion, take the time to find a good personal injury attorney but don’t feel bad if they reject your case for these and more reasons.