Across the nation, hundreds of thousands of case files make their way into representation of the most highly advertised and highly funded injury law firms. These are law firms you’ve heard of; ones with catchy jingles, posters, and adverts that aim to meet as many eyes as possible.
For this reason, when individuals sustain injury, these are some of the names at the top of their mind as they make the necessary decision of consulting an injury lawyer. With slogans like “size matters” and one that rhymes with “bait bait bait,” these law firms operate with thousands of lawyers and some of them in all 50 states.
So, when you have a matter that should be handled by an injury lawyer, what should you know before calling these catchy numbers or submitting your case to large national law firms?
The first thing would be to contact another lawyer as soon as possible.
What to Know Before Submitting Your Personal Injury Claim to a Large National Law Firm
While these firms often advertise a series of successful settlements, and seem to be much more successful than the local law firms they compete with, do they actually get better results?
One thing to understand is that the model of these firms is to be at the mind of as many million Americans as possible. What this means is that they get the most cases, and due to the broad jurisdiction with which they cover, they have one thing in mind — case volume.
These firms have the largest client acquisition budgets and capture the most clients but are attempting to apply centralized national resources to lawyers in states with highly differentiated laws. When it comes to the work of a personal injury attorney, they have no interest in doing the hard work it often takes to make a case.
These firms are focused on volume. Settling as many cases as possible and devoting the bulk of their resources to the cases with the highest potential. What this means is that if your case is difficult and requires the highly specialized work of a personal injury lawyer, it might require an attorney with years of experience and knowledge of a specific state’s laws.
As you will see, many cases get rejected or dropped by these national law firms when they require special attention. When this happens, you should contact another law firm immediately, as all injury claims are subject to statutes of limitation. This means that claims must be filed in court prior to the deadline stipulated by the statute of limitations for that particular case.
My Case Got Rejected by a Law Firm. What Are My Options?
Unfortunately, the large injury firms that get the bulk of case files don’t take every case that comes to them. Each month, thousands of injury victims receive a notice stating that a law firm has decided to decline representation for their matter. As you will see later in this article, that certainly does not mean the case lacks merit.
If your case has been rejected or dropped by a law firm, what are your options? Certainly, not every injury case is eligible for recovery. But if your case has been rejected by one law firm, there’s still a great chance that you’re able to recover.
Here’s what you should know:
- Consult the opinion of another law firm as soon as possible.
- Every personal injury case is subject to statutes of limitation, so it is in your best interest to get representation from another law firm ASAP. This means that matters must be brought before a court in a certain amount of time depending on the type of injury you have and how it was sustained.
- Get your case file from the original firm that decided to represent you.
- Many injury firms will drop clients once they realize that either the case lacks merit or needs work to get started. When a firm retains you, they create a case file with all important information pertaining to your case. If they drop you, it is important to get your case file so that you can ensure your next lawyer receives what they need.
- Ensure that you have information and evidence of the incident.
- If you’ve submitted material evidence to one law firm and they drop you, it is important that whichever law firm takes your case has these resources. Many cases require a level of proof of negligence, so this can be crucial to ensuring that you get the recovery you deserve.
- Don’t lose hope.
- There might be several lawyers that reject your case before one decides to represent you. It is important that you keep looking because your case could still have significant merit. You’ll find that our personal injury lawyers in New York would be happy to hear your case and provide an honest answer.
Taking these steps is important to ensure that you’re able to file a lawsuit and potentially recover for your injuries.
Our History of Helping Clients When Other Lawyers Wouldn’t
Leav and Steinberg LLP’s personal injury attorneys in Manhattan have handled numerous cases that have been dropped by other personal injury law firms. You will be surprised at the amount these clients have been able to recover, even when other law firms wouldn’t put in the leg work required to move their case file forward.
A case was settled recently where one of our clients got into a serious accident in New York and sustained injury. When this client first submitted her case to “the largest personal injury firm in the U.S.,” Morgan and Morgan, she got notice that her case was being denied representation by the attorneys at M&M.
Often, these law firms will reject cases when they require large efforts of research and discovery or lack experience in certain jurisdictions. In the case of our client, there was no police report available for the accident, so it was difficult to prove who was at fault.
When our client came to us with this matter, and had notified Leav & Steinberg that her case had been rejected by Morgan & Morgan, we agreed to take it because we believe in fighting for our clients. As a result of our efforts in discovery, the attorneys at Leav & Steinberg were able to recover for our client the full tender of $100,000, plus an additional $25,000 eligible for our client in the faulty driver’s household.
It is important to note that if your case was rejected by a law firm, you should certainly get a second, third, or even fourth opinion because your case can certainly still have merit.
The New York Attorneys at Leav & Steinberg Are Here to Help
Leav & Steinberg has nine attorneys that have years of experience settling personal injury cases for the people of New York. Whereas large national firms have the resources to get your attention, we have the expertise in New York legislature and courts to get you the recovery you deserve.
If you’ve been injured and are in the process of selecting representation for your injuries — it is important to consider more about the firm than how often you see their name on TV. If your case has been rejected by one of these large national firms or you’re still in the process of evaluating law firms, Leav & Steinberg offers free consultations and has the resources to fight your New York based injury case.
Contact us by visiting the link above or by calling (917) 983-7818, where we’ll give you the consideration your injuries deserve.
