Personal injury lawyers offer a free consultation to any potential client. Still, that does not guarantee the lawyer’s acceptance of the presented case. There are times when a personal injury lawyer does not want to handle a certain case.
Little or no chance for pursuit of a lawsuit
That could force an attorney to refuse a presented case: Not all negotiations lead to a settlement. An attorney would want to have the option of pursuing a lawsuit, should that prove necessary. Any possible client should seek legal counsel well before the deadline, as established by the statute of limitations.
Conflict of interest
An attorney’s awareness of any sort of relationship between him/her and the defendant in the potential client’s case would cause that member of the legal profession to refuse a chance at handling the same case. A potential client would have no good way for altering the situation, so that the attorney’s relationship could not interfere with his/her efforts to handle a particular case.
Time pressures
A Personal Injury Lawyer in Chatham might be too busy to take on an added case. A refusal that reflected the existence of time pressures would keep some member of the legal community from biting off more than he/she could chew. Not all lawyers are too busy to take on a new client.
The approached lawyer does not specialize in personal injury law
Smart victims carry out some research online, before contacting any of the lawyers with a website on the Internet. That same research could help a potential client to create a list of questions to use during the consultation.
Reluctance to take such a small case
The contingency fee for such a case might not represent a sufficient reward to those lawyers that chose to take it. Sometimes, an attorney might suggest an alternate approach for the client with a very small case. For instance, such a victim might be able to use the services of a paralegal.
Evidence of shared blame
The existence of such evidence would suggest a reduction in the amount of money that should be awarded to the victim, the person that is partly to blame for the accident. Obviously, lawyers feel hesitant to take on a case, if their fee is likely to be reduced. Still, there are times when an insurance company might have a questionable allegation, concerning shared liability for a given accident. Those same claimants could use a good lawyer.
No obvious injuries
Some injuries have late-appearing symptoms. Trauma to the head can give rise to such symptoms. If a victim/potential client has sustained that sort of trauma, then he or she might be able to persuade a consulted attorney to accept his or her case.