There are several misconceptions that surround the work of personal injury lawyers. Unfortunately, the media is presenting them in an unfavorable light. This can only make it more difficult to find a really good Philadelphia personal injury lawyer when you really need one.
Contrary to what you might be tempted to believe at first glance, the fact that a personal injury lawyer rejects your case is not always a bad thing. In several situations, this is actually justified. Here is what you should know about this topic.
What Happens During The Initial Consultation?
Because of the fact that most personal injury attorneys out there work on the basis of the contingency fee, you can expect the initial consultation to be completely free. The attorney will only get paid in the event that your case is successful. This often leads to the situation in which the lawyer will not accept your case after reviewing the files available at the initial consultation. In fact, this is when rejection usually happens.
Why do personal injury lawyers reject your case? This can be due to several different reasons. The most common ones are:
- Low Compensation Amount Available
After reviewing your case, which includes the injuries you suffered and the damages you have to deal with, the personal injury attorney might tell you that the amount you are going to receive is very small. In this case, the legal professional will simply not take on the case. Their overhead will be to high and the small cases are not economically worthwhile.
Such a rejection naturally makes you think that the attorney simply does not want to take the case because of money but it should also make you wonder if you actually need a lawyer in the first case. There is a pretty good possibility the case is very simple.
- The Case Is Too Simple
When cases are straightforward, personal injury attorneys actually recommend that you file the claim yourself. The information you need to do this is available online and for the smaller cases, you actually can go through the entire process really fast. For instance, if you just have a few scrapes and the car only has a fender bender, you can negotiate an adequate settlement with the insurance companies alone, without the help of an attorney.
- Low Odds Of Winning
There are several situations in which you might find it really difficult to win a personal injury case, even if you are faced with serious injuries. For instance, if you were largely responsible for what happened or when it is very difficult to prove fault, you actually lose money by going to trial. The same goes when the party at fault has no insurance and very little personal assets.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, the fact that the personal injury attorney does not take your case is not necessarily a bad thing. Obviously, there are cases in which you might find someone else to help you than the professional you talked to. However, what is told during the free consultations should be taken into account. You might not need a lawyer to begin with.