People often expect their lawyers to be perfect – to cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s in each and every case; no exceptions. In fact, that’s why a lot of people hire lawyers in the first place instead of just handling their legal matters by themselves. They expect their lawyer to get the job done without making any mistakes.
The thing is, lawyers are human, which means that even lawyers make mistakes (and in case you’re wondering, AI programs are far from perfect and very frequently give people the wrong legal information; some of the biggest mistakes lawyers make are actually because of their own misplaced reliance on AI programs). Most of the time, when a lawyer makes a mistake, it’s no big deal and can be easily corrected. But sometimes, the mistake can cause real harm to a client’s case.
At our office, we’ve had a number of clients who came to us after their previous lawyer made some pretty serious errors that negatively impacted their case. So that obviously raises the question: What can you do if your lawyer made a mistake that seriously harmed your case?
What is Legal Malpractice?
It doesn’t matter whether your attorney works in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, or anywhere else in Florida. We are all bound by the same basic legal and ethical duties when it comes to representing our clients. Most lawyers do their best to meet these duties, but sometimes they fall short and cause harm to their clients.
In Florida, legal malpractice occurs when an attorney neglects a reasonable duty owed to a client, and the attorney’s negligence proximately causes loss to the client.
What are Some Common Types of Legal Malpractice in Florida?
1. Missing the Statute of Limitations
A statute of limitations is a deadline for when you have to file your lawsuit. With very limited exceptions, if you miss the statute of limitations, then it’s too late to file your case. Your entire claim is barred because your lawyer didn’t file your lawsuit before the statute of limitations expired.
For a long time in Florida, negligence cases (like car crashes, slip and falls, etc.) had a statute of limitations of four years. That meant that you had four years from the date of your incident to file a lawsuit against the responsible parties. But a few years ago, the Florida Legislature changed the statute of limitations for most negligence cases from four years to two years. Now, if you get into a car crash or slip and fall or other type of accident caused by somebody else’s negligence, you typically must file a lawsuit within two years after the incident. If you miss that deadline, you no longer have a case.
Unfortunately, missing the statute of limitations is one of the more common mistakes a lawyer makes. Sometimes a lawyer gets too busy to keep up with all their cases and misses a statute of limitations deadline. Sometimes they forget to calendar the appropriate deadline for filing a case. Or sometimes they don’t even know when the statute of limitations is for the case. Whatever the reason, this type of mistake happens more frequently than you might suspect.
2. Not Suing Everybody Liable for Your Injuries
It’s not always so clear-cut who is responsible for your injuries after an accident. Let’s say you get into a car crash. Obviously, the person who was driving the vehicle that caused the crash is responsible. But was that person driving somebody else’s car? Was that person working in the course of their duties for anybody else at the time the crash occurred? If the answer to either of those questions is yes, then there are likely additional parties that are liable for your injuries beyond just the driver of the car that crashed into you.
But once again, for whatever reason, lawyers sometimes neglect to sue all the parties liable for your injuries. When your lawyer fails to sue all the liable parties, in some instances, it could be legal malpractice.
Think of this scenario: the person who crashed into you has only $10,000 of insurance coverage, but the owner of the vehicle has $100,000 in insurance coverage. If your lawyer only sues the driver who crashed into you and doesn’t sue the owner of the vehicle, you might only be able to go after the driver’s $10,000 of insurance coverage, even if your injuries are substantial.
These are just a few common examples of potential legal malpractice in Florida. There are any number of other mistakes an attorney can make that will constitute legal malpractice. If you suspect that your personal injury lawyer may have committed malpractice and caused significant damage to your case, give us a call to go over the facts of your case and see if we can help.
Your Attorney Committed Malpractice. Now What Happens?
Sometimes, you may be able to settle a legal malpractice case before even going to court. Maybe the lawyer recognizes the mistake they made, and they (or their malpractice insurance carrier) will be willing to resolve your claim against them without going through the hassle of a lawsuit.
Other times, you have to file a lawsuit against the lawyer or law firm that represented you and committed malpractice.
What Type of Damages Would You be Entitled to if Your Malpractice Case is Successful?
Let’s say your lawyer misses the statute of limitations and fails to file a lawsuit after your accident. What would you even be realistically entitled to in a malpractice claim?
First of all, keep in mind that you are not automatically entitled to a recovery just because your lawyer missed the deadline and committed malpractice. You still must prove that you would have won your case had the lawyer not missed the deadline and prove what the original case was worth.
But let’s assume you can do all that. Let’s also assume that your total damages caused by the accident are worth approximately $50,000. That right there is (more or less) the most you can hope to get from the malpractice claim - $50,000. (It gets a little complicated if the negligent person who caused your injuries didn’t have sufficient insurance coverage to cover your total damages, but that’s a discussion for another day.)
That’s just a very basic explanation of how malpractice damages work. Of course, it gets more complicated once you actually get down to the details of the case.
Call Our Office Today for a Free Consultation!
If you were injured in a car crash, a slip or trip and fall, or any other type of accident in Broward, Palm Beach, or anywhere else in Florida and suspect that your personal injury lawyer may have committed malpractice, call our office today at 954-833-1440 for a free consultation to discuss your options.