Switching your personal injury lawyer can be done even if you have already retained one to look after your personal injuries that were caused in your motor vehicle crash. Once you retain a lawyer some issues may arise that you may be concerned with which may question if you had made the right choice and here are a few examples.
- concerns about what steps have been taken;
- concerns about what steps have not been taken;
- they are not responding to your calls or emails;
- you no longer feel comfortable with your lawyer or have lost faith with him or her;
- lack of communication between you and your lawyer.
You Have the Right to Change Lawyers
Firstly, you should attempt to address any concerns with your current personal injury lawyer before seeking a new one. If your concerns are not addressed to your satisfaction, or you receive no response, then it may be time for a second opinion.
Maintaining continuity of counsel in your motor vehicle collision case is an important consideration when switching lawyers for both you and for the potential new personal injury lawyer. If your case is just beginning, it will be easier to locate a new personal injury lawyer as he or she has the opportunity to build your case from the beginning. If your case is several years old or approaching trial, retaining a new lawyer is more difficult as your case needs to be re-examined and potentially rebuilt in a short time frame.
Switching Your Personal Injury Lawyer May Carry Financial Consequences
Typically to switch your personal injury lawyer, your new lawyer must pay your former lawyer for the work already done and the money paid out or spent on the case. The money spent on the case may include such things as the cost of ordering medical records, the charge for obtaining the police file, or the fees associated with filing court documents.
The earlier you change lawyers, the lower the potential costs as your former lawyer has put in less work on your file. The later in your case that you change lawyers, the greater the cost might be as your former lawyer would have spent more time and more money on your case.
Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer after being injured in a motor vehicle crash is one of the most important decisions you will make. Your relationship with your lawyer will likely last for several years so it is important that you and your lawyer are a good fit as well as the law firm. You will be interacting a lot with both your lawyer and his or her staff so your ability to communicate effectively with one another is extremely important as well as your comfort level. You will want a personal injury lawyer that listens and understands not just your case but who you are as a person as you navigate your road to recovery.
In any situation, carefully choosing a good reputable personal injury lawyer from the start to handle your claim could limit any future issues and limit the need to change lawyers which will hopefully lead to a proper and satisfactory resolution of your case.
The Crash Support Network is a unique website consisting of an online support group, a Crash Survivor Blog written by a survivor, our Sharing Our Recovery Newsletter, informative articles and a Virtual Crash Memorial. Our website is based on relationship-building and puts the needs of survivors first by creating a helpful resource for victims and survivors of motor vehicle crashes.
