If you’ve suffered an injury due to someone else’s negligence, hiring an experienced attorney to handle your personal injury claim can help you seek compensation. However, not all injury cases are viable for a lawsuit. Here are four common reasons why a personal injury lawyer may decline to take your case:
1. Lack of Evidence
In order to prove liability and recover damages, there needs to be sufficient evidence of negligence by the defendant. According to a 2022 report by the Insurance Information Institute, over 90% of personal injury lawsuits settle before trial. If there is not enough evidence to convince the insurance company that you have a strong case, an attorney will be hesitant to take it on.
Documentation like police reports, medical records, photographs, video footage and eyewitness statements help substantiate your claim. Without convincing documentation, it can be hard to establish negligence. For example, if you were injured in a car accident but there were no other witnesses and no police report filed, it becomes your word against the other driver’s.
2. Questionable Liability
Even with injuries resulting from an accident, it may be difficult to prove the other party was legally at fault. Unless police determined one driver clearly caused the collision, the issue of liability is murky. According to the National Safety Council, in 2022, speeding was a contributing factor in 29% of all traffic fatalities. If you were injured by a speeding driver but have no evidence they were driving recklessly, your case will be hard to prove.
Slip and fall cases also frequently involve unclear liability. Just because you fell does not inherently mean someone else is responsible. Unless there is proof of a dangerous condition that the property owner failed to properly address, a lawyer will probably pass on the case.
3. Low Settlement Value
Personal injury attorneys who work on contingency typically only accept cases where damages will warrant their time investment. According to a recent study, the average car accident bodily injury claim is around $26,000. Minor soft tissue injuries from smaller accidents often result in much lower settlements.
If the potential payout is only a few thousand dollars, the attorney may not collect enough from a 1/3 contingency fee to make the case worthwhile. Serious injuries with high medical bills and lost wages are more likely to garner an attorney’s interest. For example, a back injury requiring surgery and preventing you from working for 6 months will have a much higher settlement value.
4. You Share Partial Blame
Contributory negligence laws prevent you from recovering damages if you bear any fault at all for the accident. Even in states following comparative negligence rules, your compensation gets reduced by your percentage of blame.
So, if you caused or contributed to the accident through your own negligent actions, an attorney will not want to waste time on a weak case. For example, if you got injured by tripping down some stairs that you were improperly using, the property owner is unlikely to bear full liability.
Choose Your Personal Injury Lawyer Carefully
If one personal injury lawyer declines your case, do not let that discourage you. Keep consulting with attorneys until you find one willing to take it on. Make sure you select a personal injury attorney that instills confidence they can obtain maximum compensation. With the right lawyer and compelling evidence, you can potentially recover damages for your injuries.
Don’t give up if the first lawyer says no – the right one will fight for you.