Being involved in a car accident can be deeply traumatizing. Among the first things to do immediately is to make a police report, speak with your insurance provider, and seek medical attention.
After doing this, the next step is to hire legal counsel to protect your interests. That’s excellent, but what should you do if you suspect your lawyer is not protecting your interests?
You can take legal action. You can file a lawsuit and end your contract with the lawyer.
In other words, you have the right to file a lawsuit against your lawyer if evidence shows the lawyer’s actions caused you harm.
This post will discuss everything you need to know about cases like this. Read on to learn the circumstances under which you can sue your Roswell car accident attorney.
What Does an Accident Lawyer Do? Why Hire an Accident Lawyer in the First Place?
A car accident attorney is an officer of the court, just like any other legal representative. That means the attorney must uphold existing laws and always follow them. That is the foundation for how your legal counsel will seek to help you.
One of the roles of a car accident lawyer is to help you understand your rights. Most individuals are unfamiliar with car accident laws and personal injury laws.
Your attorney will guide you through all laws that apply to your case. This enables you, as the client, to understand your legal options.
Your legal counsel is in charge of giving you advice and ensuring that everything is done in compliance with the law at all times. This doesn’t affect your legal rights in circumstances involving accidents.
Your lawyer must also ensure you are informed of all your options. He should give you a sense of what could happen if you pursue each one and generally guide how to proceed in a way that will result in the best conclusion for you.
A car accident lawyer also negotiates a fair settlement for you. A successful car accident claim involves much preparation and investigation. Your lawyer will put effort into building a strong case and negotiating a reasonable settlement with the insurance firm.
Most car accident cases are settled before trial. But if the insurance company fails to settle, your car accident lawyer will represent you in court.
Signs That You May Have Retained the Services of an Incompetent Lawyer
Lawyers generally take their obligations seriously. Their work goes go beyond simply making a living and expanding their clientele.
Instead, it is about making sure that every customer is adequately represented. Unfortunately, some lawyers might not offer the kind of service their clients seek.
It will be easier for you to assess the integrity of your legal counsel if you are aware of the most typical indications of an ineffective attorney. If any of the following happens, it could be time to make changes:
- A lack of interest in learning more about the case from you shows that the attorney has made a decision and doesn’t believe anything more you may know will impact the path of the case. That can make it more difficult to prevail in the case.
- Another red flag is a lawyer who fails to keep you informed on the status of the case. Legal counsel desires that their clients are updated on the status of their claims. If yours doesn’t keep you up to date, it could be because nothing is being done.
- Even if resolving the case is what attorneys primarily concentrate on, showing some compassion for their clients makes a huge difference. A lawyer who shows less empathy or compassion for what you are going through may not be committed to taking the necessary action.
- Missed meetings are another indication that something is wrong. Although delays and rescheduled sessions sometimes occur due to emergencies, and lengthy court proceedings won’t do your case any justice.
- Another red flag is an apparent ignorance of the laws that apply to your case. This can indicate that the attorney did little to no research. This could have adverse effects on your case.
Signs Your Lawyer Is Taking Advantage of You
Perhaps you worry that your lawyer’s lack of interest in your case has become more serious. You probably feel like your lawyer is taking advantage of you. There are signs to look out for to know when this is happening.
Here are some example scenarios to help you make a change:
Your legal fees might be one of the most glaring indications that something is wrong. Reviewing the contents of those invoices in detail is sometimes the first step in figuring out whether or not your lawyer is overcharging you.
You may come across fees for services delivered that were never addressed or that aren’t directly tied to a decision you and your legal counsel made.
Failure to look into any issues connected to your case is another indicator of unprofessional lawyers. Your lawyer may fail to speak with potential witnesses, gather required paperwork, or pursue problems that the two of you discussed and decided needed more investigation.
Missed deadlines may have you thinking your lawyer is working against you rather than for you. While it is possible to miss one deadline relating to a scheduled meeting between you and the legal counsel, repeated occurrences or the inability to submit paperwork to the court on time raise red flags.
These and other problems may cause you to lose faith in your legal representation. When this occurs, you can question how to get rid of a lawyer and receive a refund. In truth, there are approaches to handling each of those jobs.
When Can You Take Legal Action Against Your Roswell Car Accident Attorney?
Knowing the list of statutory claims you have regarding any attorney you have retained is useful. You will want assistance from additional legal counsel to establish if a lawsuit is viable.
Suing for legal malpractice is often a severe affair. Any lawyer you retain for this reason will want to ensure that there are reasonable reasons for taking this action.
You might be able to file a lawsuit against your former lawyer if:
- There is proof that your Roswell car accident attorney colluded with the other party. Whenever you come across documentation of conferences, correspondence of any kind, or other events that make you stop and ponder, you might have grounds to sue.
- There is unwarranted charges on your lawyer’s invoices. The court and the American Bar Association typically have a negative impression of attorneys who charge for services they never provided.
- There is concrete proof that your lawyer lied to you. This is especially true if those lies have caused you to harm that the court has determined in some way.
- Your lawyer missed court appearances. Even if crises sometimes occur, it is unacceptable not to give a good cause. This can hurt your case in a way that is difficult to fix.
There are further reasons to file a lawsuit. The attorney you hire to represent you in a claim of negligence or malpractice may be able to provide you with examples and tie them to your own experiences.
What You Should Do if Your Legal Counsel Is Not Providing the Necessary Help
What happens if you determine that your attorney is not advocating for you? The first step is to break up the professional relationship.
That means firing the attorney immediately. At this point, you should also take custody of all the data you handed the legal counsel.
If your current attorney isn’t assisting you, your next action is to find a new one. Your car accident lawsuit can only proceed if you have a trustworthy attorney.
Then, look for legal representation so they may file a lawsuit against the reckless attorney on your behalf. You first have a consultation during which you submit details and any proof of negligence.
The necessary steps will be taken when the lawyer accepts the case, and your effort to sue the lawyer may begin.
Filing a Formal Complaint Against Your Car Accident Lawyer
A critical action to take ahead of your lawsuit is to file a formal complaint with the court and the bar association. This contributes to laying the groundwork for the subsequent action.
You don’t necessarily have to know how to file a case against a lawyer in Roswell, New Mexico. The legal counsel you hire to help you pursue the negligence or legal malpractice claim can guide you through the process.
How To Go About Filing Suit Against Your Former Accident Lawyer
Lawyers who take legal action against other lawyers know how delicate the situation may be for their clients. They will thus assist you in understanding the procedure for filing a lawsuit against your old legal counsel.
Suing begins with understanding how to establish the legal basis for your claim. Your testimony to the new legal counsel and the findings of any subsequent inquiry will serve as the foundation for that argument.
After that, the attorney will put together all the required paperwork to submit to the court and make sure the defendant is informed promptly.
Remember that suing an attorney is simply the beginning of the process. There could be more paperwork to submit to the court in the future.
Furthermore, no assurance that filing a lawsuit will result in a positive outcome. The other party might settle the suit, it might proceed to trial, and the judge might rule against you.
Your current lawyer will keep you informed of all developments in the case, including settlement proposals.
Hire an Experienced Roswell Car Accident Attorney to Help
Suing an attorney for misrepresentation or another duty violation is a difficult feat. It should only be done once you fully understand what transpired and how it affected you.
It is wise to hire a new legal representative who can consider the issue from all angles, including what the prior attorney did and did not do.
It may be possible to seek damages; in that case, your present attorney can take on the matter and assist you in determining your options.
At Legal Giant, we partner with the best car accident attorneys. Our partner attorneys can help establish grounds of negligence in your former attorney and how their actions caused you harm.
Call us at (855) 740-5024 to discuss your legal options with one of the best Roswell car accident attorneys.
