No Lawyer Will Take My Personal Injury Case – Why?

People think most lawyers will take any case just to make a few dollars.  This is just not true.  Every lawyer has standards and reasons why they take one kind of case and not another. If you’ve been searching for an attorney, but if your case is continuously denied, there is likely a reason.

Here are the top 8 reasons why no lawyer will take your case:

1- There Is No Money to Be Made in Your Case.

It costs a lawyer money to try a case.  So, for a lawyer to take a case, the case needs to offer the lawyer the opportunity to recover more money than it will cost the lawyer to develop the case.

Depending upon the kind of case it is, a lawyer may have to invest $50K to $100K (or more) to recover damages for a client.  (In Tennessee and Georgia personal injury cases, all attorneys take anywhere from one-third to 50% of what the lawyer recovers.  We take only one-third).  The more experienced and successful the attorney the higher that number becomes.  Such costs may involve product testing, the expense of obtaining expert witnesses, and many other potential costs.

Additionally, the costs of developing the testimony to prove your case has to be factored into the analysis of the attorney.  For instance, if the cost of taking a deposition exceeds what the attorney expects to recover from the defendant, an attorney probably will not accept the case.  If a lawyer refuses to take your case, you can get a second opinion from lawyers who take cases similar to yours.

2- Other Lawyers Have Rejected Your Case.

If one lawyer after another rejects your case, the next lawyer you consult will be reluctant to take your case, either because the facts don’t prove the case against the defendant or the lawyer is afraid you have unrealistic expectations.

Quite often, a reputable law firm will refuse to take a case because the potential client appears to be shopping for a lawyer who will tell them what they want to hear about the value of their case.

You should base your selection of an attorney based upon the lawyer’s experience in and a history of winning your type of case.  If it looks like you are just trying to find a lawyer who will tell you what you want to hear about the value of your case, a reputable lawyer probably won’t waste any time with you.

3- The Statute of Limitations Has Expired.

A statute of limitation is a law which sets the length of time you have to file a suit in court from the date of your injury.  In Georgia, in most car injury or personal injury cases, it is two years.  In Tennessee, in most car injury and personal injury cases, it’s only one year.

This means if you wait so much as one day over the two-year period in Georgia or a one-year period in Tennessee, you can no longer sue for your Georgia or Tennessee personal injury.

4- You Have A Weak Case.

One of the questions you always want to ask any time you consult an attorney is:  “How strong is my case?”  If a law firm concludes the facts of your case are not in your favor, you cannot prove necessary facts or there is no cause of action that applies to your situation, a lawyer does not want to sign you up as a client only to lose your case.  Good lawyers tend to have a good reputation to protect—that is how they attract qualified clients.  A lawyer who will take any case, no matter how weak, will repel potential clients.

5- You Aren’t Really Injured.

In personal injury cases, the extent of your injuries is important to the potential lawyer deciding whether to take your case.  If you really didn’t get injured, the lawyer simply is not going to recover enough to cover his or her fee.

6- The Lawyer Has A Conflict of Interest.

All states impose an ethical duty on their lawyers to not represent clients who have an adverse interest to one another.  Additionally, if a lawyer is related *professionally or by blood) to a party in your case, the lawyer cannot take the case without finding herself in a conflict of interest.

7- The Lawyer Doesn’t Specialize in That Kind of Case.

Say you are injured by a hospital or a doctor.  This would be a medical malpractice case.  Not all personal injury attorneys specialize in medical malpractice.  Often, you see personal injury attorneys declaring that they specialize in car wrecks and truck accident cases.  Some may handle only worker compensation cases.

If the law firm you speak to tells you your case is not the type of case they handle ask them to give you a referral to an attorney that does.

8- They Don’t Like You.

A lawyer is never obligated to take your case.  Taking on a new client means starting a working relationship—and relationships are a two-way street.  If the lawyer feels that you may have unrealistic expectations, are difficult, obnoxious, untruthful or abrasive, then he or she may decide to pass on your case.