Lawyer Negligence

A lawyer can be sued for professional negligence, especially when the case is lost because they fail to meet deadlines. Coffey and Nichols has successfully represented injured people whose lawyer missed the statute of limitations.

Some lawyers refuse to consider cases against other lawyers. Coffey & Nichols is willing to take them because we believe in the jury system to mostly get cases right and believe that clients whose cases have been harmed by negligent lawyers should be compensated.

A “Case Within a Case”

To win a case against a lawyer, we have to be able to show that the lawyer did something wrong and that you probably would have won the case and collected money damages if the lawyer had not made a mistake. We also have to prove that the lawyer took responsibility for representing you on the particular issue.¹

Statute of Limitations for Legal Negligence

The statute of limitations for legal negligence cases is 5 years from the time the damage is capable of ascertainment.² The damage is not capable of ascertainment until the client becomes aware of some fact or circumstances which should suggest that some error or mistake may have been committed by the attorney.³

What to do if Your Case Was Lost Because of a Negligent Lawyer

If you can, ask the lawyer if there is anything that can be done to fix the problem. If there is nothing that can be done to save the case you should probably fire the lawyer and ask for the name of their malpractice insurance company. You should also keep anything you received from the lawyer and ask for a copy of your entire file. The most important evidence in any case against a negligent lawyer is the lawyer’s file about your case. You have a right to a copy of your file at any time. You should ask the lawyer for a copy of the entire file, electronically and on paper if it is available.  If your case was in litigation you can also contact the court about getting a copy of the file although depending on the size of the case that can be expensive.  If we take your case, we will get a copy of the entire court file as part of our investigation.

It is okay to make notes or a timeline of what happened but if you are doing it in order to talk or show to a lawyer later write at the top “For a Lawyer.” Don’t post anything on social media or the internet that you wouldn’t want the other side to see. Later on down the line these posts and other internet activity may have to be given to the defendant if it has anything to do with what happened or your injuries including what you can and can’t do since the accident.