Many of you have no doubt heard the old adage about being treated as a mushroom: Kept in the dark and fed s**t. Don’t let this happen to you when you hire a malpractice lawyer.
One of the most common complaints the State Bar receives from clients about their lawyers is that the lawyer is not communicating with the client. The client does not hear from the lawyer about the progress of the case. The lawyer does not answer emails or return phone calls. The client is frustrated, and with good reason. When a lawyer fails to respond to emails or to return calls, the usual reason is that the lawyer has not been doing what he or she was supposed to be doing, does not want to admit it to the client, and is now avoiding the client as a result. When a lawyer won’t return client phone calls, that should be a huge red flag for the client. Trouble is probably afoot. Time to get to the bottom of it.
Sadly, by the time the lawyer has stopped returning the client’s calls, the damage may already have been done and it may already be too late to do much about it.
Inexperienced malpractice lawyers are usually very excited about a case when it is new. They are enthusiastic and tell the client how strong the case is. Then reality sets in. The case is not as good as they thought. It may never have been any good but they were too inexperienced to recognize that fact at the start. Even if it was good, highly competent malpractice defense counsel are now demanding discovery and the identity of expert witnesses, both of which cost money. The lawyer may not have either the necessary expert witnesses or the money to prosecute the case. Defense counsel begin to file motions to have the case dismissed and the inexperienced lawyer may not be able to successfully oppose the motions. Believe me when I tell you no lawyer, inexperienced or otherwise, wants to tell the client that their case is being thrown out of court, regardless of the reason. Shutting down communication with the client is a common response. If I never speak to the client, I don’t have to admit that the case is being or has been dismissed.
Medical malpractice cases are like delicate watches. There are a lot of moving parts which must be assembled carefully to create a strong whole. Medical issues must be identified and analyzed. Expert witnesses must be consulted and retained. These things must be before suit is filed. Once suit is filed, it is usually too late to do the work that should have been done pre-suit. Irrevocable choices have been made and very few experienced lawyers will want to take over a case in which they will be stuck with decisions made by someone else.
This means that by the time a client realizes that his or her malpractice lawyer is not right for them or is not communicating with them, it is probably too late to find a good lawyer to take over the case. A client pretty much has only one chance to select the right malpractice lawyer. Don’t blow it.
