In Las Vegas, personal injuries happen all the time. You can injure yourself at the blackjack tables or by betting on a college sports longshot. When you think about Las Vegas personal injury cases, though, you might envision slip-and-falls, vehicles hitting you, or other acts causing bodily harm.
You can look for personal injury attorneys in Las Vegas. You’ll find plenty, and some will eagerly take your case. You may also encounter some who won’t represent you.
Let’s discuss instances when a Las Vegas personal injury lawyer won’t take your case.
Interest Conflicts
Reasons why a lawyer might not take your personal injury case sometimes include interest conflicts. That happens in Las Vegas, just like anywhere else.
Maybe when you approach a lawyer and tell them what happened, they’ll turn you down if they know the person who harmed you. Perhaps it’s someone they know or a relative in their extended family.
If that happens, the lawyer can’t represent you without bias. You can never hire a lawyer who connects personally with your case in any way. They must have no connection to represent you with their best abilities.
They Feel You Don’t Have a Case
Maybe you feel someone harmed you. That person or entity did something, and you hurt yourself as a result. You feel sure you have a lawsuit, and you just need a lawyer to champion your cause.
Presumably, though, you’re no personal injury expert. The lawyer you approach might see the situation differently when you tell them about it.
They might object because they feel you can’t prove what happened, even if someone else caused it.
You may not have the physical evidence or witnesses required. They might also think you caused your own injury and the person or entity you blame didn’t do it.
You can argue till you’re blue in the face, but if a lawyer doesn’t think they can win your case for you, they won’t waste their time with it. They have better things to do.
They Don’t Have Time
You might also go see a personal injury lawyer in Las Vegas and ask them about a potential lawsuit. You can review the basic facts, and the lawyer may agree you have a solid case. They might take you on if they have the time, but maybe they simply don’t at that moment.
They might have several ongoing legal cases, and they can’t give your lawsuit the attention it deserves. To win, your lawyer has to maintain absolute focus.
If this happens, they might at least point you to another lawyer who they feel can help. They may have colleagues who they say they trust and who have the skill set to help you.
A lawyer might also direct you toward another attorney in the same firm. If you approach a firm with multiple personal injury lawyers under the same banner, you might hire one of them if the others can’t take you on as a client right then.
The Case is Too Complex
Sometimes, a Las Vegas personal injury lawyer might turn you down if they feel you have a case but it will take too long to pursue. They might immediately see that your lawsuit has many facets and will require months to prepare. They may feel like simple cases make more sense for them at that time.
Complex cases usually only attract personal injury lawyers if they feel the payoff warrants their attention. If they think they must talk to dozens of witnesses, locate tons of documents, and produce too much physical evidence to prove your claim, they may decline. They might want simple slip-and-falls, not product liability cases that drag on for months.
The Defendant Has No Money
You might feel you have a personal injury claim, and a lawyer agrees when they hear the details. They may hear about the defendant, though, and decide they likely don’t have the money to justify the lawyer’s involvement.
Lawyers occasionally do pro bono work, but usually, they want to make some cash off a lawsuit. They typically get their money through contingency if they win your case for you.
If they look at the defendant and immediately see this person or entity has no financial resources, they might not bother representing you. They may commiserate when you tell them that you’ve injured yourself, but they won’t want to pursue a lawsuit against an out-of-work individual living in a trailer park with their parents.
They Don’t Believe Your Story
You might tell the personal injury lawyer what happened, but you spin some of the details to make yourself look better. That happens sometimes. Maybe you can’t help depicting yourself better than you truly appear in this story.
If some facts or details don’t add up, a personal injury lawyer can probably spot that. They often have people skills and notice when someone muddies certain points that can come into play if you take the stand.
If a lawyer thinks you caused your injury or you mostly bear the blame for it, they probably won’t take your case. They might think you’re wasting their time and dismiss you from their office with little preamble.
You Have Passed the Limitations Statute Deadline
You only have so much time to get a personal injury case off the ground. You can talk with a lawyer and tell them the date and time the injury occurred. They will immediately know whether you can file a claim because they’ll know the limitation statute deadline in Nevada.
They may say you have a case, but they can’t help because you have passed the deadline. That’s why you must contact a lawyer quickly if you feel a personal injury lawsuit can help you.
In these instances, you might contact a different lawyer or give up, depending on what you learn. If you think locating a different attorney can help you, find a new one to approach.
