Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Drop Your Case?
January 12, 2022 | Personal Injury
If you sustain an injury caused by the actions of another individual or entity in Washington, you may be able to recover compensation. Recovering compensation in these situations may require working with an attorney. However, if you began working with a lawyer and they suddenly dropped your case, you need to know what to do next. Here, we want to discuss why a personal injury lawyer would drop a case as well as the steps you can take to move forward after that occurs.
Top Reasons a Personal Injury Lawyer Would Drop a Case
There are various reasons why an attorney may decide to drop a claim, with the most common being the following:
- The lawyer does not have the necessary competence or legal skills to handle the particular claim
- The client violates the terms of a contingency fee agreement
- The lawyer has a conflict of interest with other parties involved
- The client and lawyer cannot agree on a legal strategy moving forward
- There is an irreconcilable breakdown between the attorney and client
- The client refuses to follow the attorney’s legal advice
- The attorney has reason to believe the client is planning to use their legal services to commit a crime or fraud
This is certainly not an exhaustive list of the reasons why an attorney would drop a case. Even if you do not see the reason your attorney dropped your case on this list, we encourage you to reach out for a consultation with another lawyer as promptly as possible.
It is also possible for a client to terminate the attorney-client relationship on their own. This decision is often made based on the same list of reasons we mentioned above, and is entirely up to the client.
Can the Lawyer Leave Mid-Litigation?
Yes, it is possible for an attorney to withdraw from your personal injury claim in the middle of the litigation process. However, doing so will cause more complications than if the attorney dropped the case before it went to court. In order to drop a case mid-litigation, the lawyer will have to obtain the court’s permission to withdraw.
Can You Hire Another Personal Injury Lawyer?
Yes, it is possible to hire another personal injury lawyer to handle your case and move forward with representing you in court. However, it is important to understand why your lawyer dropped your case in the first place. In most situations, a lawyer will let their client know the reasons for dropping the case, and they may even recommend another lawyer who can help with the claim.
We recommend reaching out to a skilled Seattle personal injury lawyer as soon as possible if your attorney has dropped your case. Another Washington injury attorney will offer a free evaluation of the claim and take into consideration why the other attorney dropped the case. A new prospective attorney will explain why the other lawyer may have dropped the case, determine whether or not you have a valid claim to move forward with, and give you an unbiased opinion regarding the possible outcome of your situation. If a new attorney is able to move forward, you will have to establish another attorney-client relationship and contingency fee arrangement.