People who have sustained significant physical injuries and costly property damage losses may have the option of filing lawsuits. Personal injury lawsuits allow people to pursue justice and financial relief when the negligence, default or misconduct of other parties leaves them with verifiable economic losses.
Typically, those hoping to seek justice in the civil courts after a car crash, premises liability incident or similar scenario choose to work with a personal injury attorney. Lawyers can help validate that the claim is worth pursuing and manage much of the legal process involved in litigation.
Unfortunately, some clients end up disappointed by the representation they secure. In fact, they may even experience legal malpractice that results in an unsuccessful lawsuit or drastically diminishes the compensation that they receive. In such scenarios, the plaintiffs may have grounds for a legal malpractice lawsuit against their former attorney.
What is legal malpractice?
Legal malpractice is more than failing to deliver on promises made to clients. It is the failure to conform to professional standards. Lawyers complete years of intensive education. They should be able to provide a professional standard of representation to their personal injury clients. If a lawyer makes an error that another competent attorney could easily identify and avoid, their conduct may constitute malpractice.
Sometimes, malpractice relates to a conflict of interest that the lawyer does not disclose to their clients, such as a pre-existing relationship with the defendant named in the lawsuit. Other times, malpractice could be the result of moving into a new area of law where the lawyer lacks familiarity.
Substance abuse can also lead to allegations of malpractice, as drug or alcohol abuse can affect a lawyer’s negotiation skills or even their ability to show up on time for court hearings. Frequently, legal malpractice involves mistakes so major that any competent attorney could have avoided them.
Blowing the statute of limitations on a personal injury lawsuit is a perfect example. Louisiana’s laws used to limit people to one year for filing injury-related lawsuits. Plaintiffs may now have up to two years to seek compensation from the party responsible for their injuries.
Even with two years to take legal action, lawyers may fail to file paperwork before the statute of limitations expires. That obvious and preventable error could then lead to claims of legal malpractice. Allegations of malpractice can provide financial relief and can also serve as a warning to other prospective clients about the risk of hiring a specific lawyer.
Reviewing what happened during a personal injury lawsuit with a legal malpractice professional can help frustrated plaintiffs understand their options. A legal malpractice lawsuit may be an option if frustrated former clients act swiftly to hold a negligent lawyer accountable.
