Why Would a Personal Injury Attorney Turn Down Your Case?

By Thomas Greer | April 6, 2015

Why Would a Personal Injury Attorney Turn Down Your CaseYou have been injured in a car accident and you are thinking that you have a pretty strong case that might result in a nice settlement for you. Are you guaranteed to get a personal injury attorney to take on your case?

Not necessarily. Sometimes lawyers turn down cases that seem like “slam dunks” to the victims involved. But as personal injury attorneys in West Tennessee, we know which cases have a good likelihood of success, and we do not want to start a lawsuit that we know our client could not win; it just is not fair to them.

Some of the more common reasons why a personal injury lawyer might turn down a case include:

  • Not being able to determine fault. If your injury was not the direct cause of another person’s negligence then that person is not at fault for your injuries. Sometimes accidents happen and no one is to blame. In those kinds of circumstances you cannot recover damages from someone who has done nothing wrong.
  • The victim causing the accident. Tennessee is a comparative fault state. If you are found 51% responsible for the accident, you cannot collect any compensation.
  • An expired statute of limitations. Every state has a statutory time limit within which a person may bring a personal injury claim. If you have run out the clock and then you wake up one day and decide that you should sue the driver it will be too late. A lawyer will not take on a case after the time limit has expired.
  • The injuries are not severe enough. If your injury is very minor then it is often not worth your time or the lawyer’s time to pursue the case. Personal injury lawyers typically only earn a fee based on a percentage of the recover. If the victim is not really injured, then the recovery will not be enough to cover the expenses of the lawsuit.

Don’t give up too quickly. If you have been injured and you believe that you have a legitimate case, contact another personal injury attorney. Most lawyers who take personal injury cases offer free consultations (like we do) so it does not cost you any money to see if another attorney might be willing to take your case.

Contact the Memphis personal injury attorneys of Bailey & Greer, PLLC if you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident. We are ready to discuss your case and advocate your best interests. We proudly serve clients throughout Jackson and West Tennessee.

Posted in Auto Accidents, Blog, Motorcycle Accidents, Truck Accidents