Truck Accident Case Second Opinion
When you’ve been injured in a truck accident, contacting a personal injury attorney is an important step toward receiving the compensation you need. Collision injury victims are sometimes surprised to hear the attorney they consulted declined to accept their case, but this is actually rather common.
Declined Cases
If an attorney you’ve consulted doesn’t accept your truck accident case, he may not offer an explanation of this decision. However, attorneys frequently turn down cases for the following reasons:
- Unclear liability. When liability is difficult to establish, the likelihood of a favorable settlement is reduced significantly. Unclear liability leads to an uncertain outcome, and some attorneys reject these more difficult cases.
- Low anticipated damages. An experienced personal injury attorney can reasonably estimate damages in a truck accident case. If the anticipated recovery isn’t considerably higher than the cost of pursuing damages, he’s unlikely to take the case.
- Comparative fault. If an accident victim’s own negligence contributed to the collision, comparative fault rules govern the outcome of the case. In Texas, this means that an accident victim found to be 51 percent or more at fault cannot recover damages.
- Conflict of interest. If the attorney has a history of working with the individual being sued, he may reject the case in order to avoid a conflict of interest.
- Outside the scope of practice. Not all personal injury attorneys handle every type of injury case. While some lawyers focus on vehicle accident cases, others specialize in product liability law. An attorney is likely to reject a case that falls outside his scope of practice.
Get a Second Opinion
If an attorney has decided against taking your truck accident case, you still have options. Your case may be a perfect fit for a different law firm, so you should seek out a second opinion.
Scheduling a free consultation with us costs you nothing, but failing to pursue your claim could prove to be expensive. To learn more about what the law offices of Steve M. Lee, P.C., can do for you, visit us on Facebook.