Why to File a Legal Malpractice Lawsuit in Florida
13 March 2012
If you think an attorney has made you to lose a lawsuit or have a lawsuit dismissed, you must contact an injury lawyer Tampa. Filing for legal malpractice is very different from filing a complaint with the Florida Bar Association. Once you submit a complaint with the Florida Bar Association, you do not recover money from damages. The attorney is sanctioned. Once you file a legal malpractice lawsuit with an injury lawyer Tampa, you can recoup damages from the lawyer.
You should file a lawsuit for legal malpractice only if an attorney’s activities caused an adverse outcome in your case. If the lawyer did his job correctly, you cannot file for legal malpractice if you lost your lawsuit.
Some examples of lawyer malpractice include:
~ Gross non-communication with you and the attorney or firm representing the other party so that it affects the end result of a lawsuit or settlement;
~ The attorney or firm does not stand for your best interests, in such a way that you lose the case or are compelled to acknowledge a settlement significantly lower than you deserve;
~ The lawyer or law firm overcharges you, including charging you and not carrying out the work.
These are only a few examples. The attorney’s action must be negligent in nature to be considered malpractice. The attorney or law firm must take reasonable care in dealing with your case, which suggests that your law firm’s services have to be the same as anticipated from other attorneys. If you feel that the attorney or firm failed to provide services equal to that of a different lawyer and your attorney’s services are not consistent with accepted standards expected of attorneys, you may have a legal malpractice claim.
To win a legal malpractice lawsuit, you have to show that you had an attorney-client relationship with the attorney. This includes signing a retainer agreement and paying the lawyer to represent you.
You must also show that your attorney did or did not do something, and by his actions or inactions, breached his or his firm’s duty to provide reasonable care to your lawsuit. You need to then prove that the attorney’s breach caused you damages or injury like losing your lawsuit or settling for a lesser amount. Finally, you need to be able to show you experienced an actual loss, harm or injury.
If you feel you do have a legal malpractice case, an injury lawyer Tampa can help you determine whether the lawyer misrepresented you and caused you to lose a case or to have to settle for less than you deserve.