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FYI, here are new topics we have posted on our site of late.
Will County Criminal Attorneys
QDRO
Hip Fractures
Sex Offender Registration
http://www.findgreatlawyers.com/chicago-personal-injury-attorneys.htm
http://www.findgreatlawyers.com/will-county-family-law-attorneys.htm
We get a lot of complaints about lawyers. We get calls from people wanting to switch attorneys or asking what they can do if they feel their lawyer hasn’t been doing a good job. Some ask whether they can sue their lawyer for malpractice. The answer is yes, but it’s not easy. And it depends on what the lawyer did.
There is a difference between a bad result or bad case management and actual malpractice. Attorneys are allowed to make mistakes, but if they fail to handle a case with reasonable care (basically what reasonable attorneys in the same position would have done), then it can be considered malpractice.
It can difficult to find an attorney to take a legal malpractice case because not many attorneys do legal malpractice and even fewer actually advertise that they do. One reason, which I’m sure you can guess, is that they may feel uncomfortable about suing other attorneys. The main reason, in my opinion, is because legal malpractice cases are so tough to prove.
Basically, you have to prove two things, which is like trying to separate cases. You have to prove that your attorney committed malpractice. But in addition, you have to prove that had they not been negligent, you would have won your original case. It’s the only way to show how you were harmed. Without harm – also called damages – you cannot win.
So let’s say your attorney was representing you in a $50,000 car accident case, but they missed the deadline for filing the lawsuit and your case was dismissed and lost forever. If you want to sue them for legal malpractice, you not only have to prove that they were negligent in missing the deadline, but you have to prove that you would have won the car accident case if it had been filed on time.
The bottom line is that it’s an uphill battle but it’s not impossible to sue an attorney for malpractice. And if your case was handled negligently and it caused you to lose, it may be worth looking into.
To learn more visit, http://www.findgreatlawyers.com/LegalMalpractice.htm
Since 2001, findgreatlawyers.com has been the leading resource for Illinois attorney referrals and legal guidance. If you would like our help please contact one of our lawyers via our on-line form or call (800) 517-1614. We are based in Chicago, but help people find attorneys for legal matters throughout Illinois. All inquiries are free and confidential.
Every Wednesday we offer five legal tips based on questions we have received from readers.
I work for an apartment management company and at times I’ve had to take the on call pager/phone, I’d like to know if I’m to be paid for being on call and what is the normal compensation for doing so.
If your movement is restricted as to where you can go then the answer is yes. But if you are just on call and can go wherever you want for the most part, the answer is that they don’t owe you anything.
I was sitting in my driveway on top of my car, drinking a lot of beer. A cop pulled up and asked if the keys were on me. I pulled them out of my pocket and I was arrested for a DUI. How is that possible?
As long as you are considered “in control” of the car, you can get a DUI, even if it’s not on or you have no intention of driving. It is a defendable case though and you should get an Illinois DUI attorney.
What does it mean to receive a notice of attorney’s lien? – I just received a notice to a notice on an attorney’s lien. I was involved in an accident several months ago.
That means that you are being accused of being at fault for the injury and they are either going to sue or try to pursue a settlement. The lien letter is standard practice and protects the attorney in case you try to settle behind his back. You need to report all of this to your insurance company ASAP.
I got a notice from a car loan company that they are trying to do a replevin action against me. What does replevin mean?
A replevin action is a case where you try to recover property. You aren’t suing for money, you are suing to get an order to have something returned to you. It indicates in this case that you are behind on your payments for the car or you used the car as collateral for a different loan and haven’t kept up with that payment schedule.
I was named the executor of my cousin’s will. What if I don’t want to do it? I have no idea how to handle the probate process and don’t want to get sued for screwing up.
No one can make you be the executor. You have the right to do nothing or simpler still, you can hire a probate lawyer that will handle everything for you. Those fees are typically paid by the estate of the person who died, not you.
Since 2001, findgreatlawyers.com has been the leading resource for Illinois attorney referrals and legal guidance. If you would like our help please contact one of our lawyers via our on-line form or call (800) 517-1614. We are based in Chicago, but help people find attorneys for legal matters throughout Illinois. All inquiries are free and confidential.
Deadlines for filing lawsuits are called statutes of limitations. There are different deadlines depending on the type of case. For personal injury cases in Illinois – including medical malpractice, wrongful death, car accidents, and slip and fall cases – the deadline is two years from the date of injury (or death). If you don’t file a lawsuit by the deadline, you won’t get a second chance.
There are some narrow exceptions.
For example, if you’re younger than 18 years old at the time of the injury, you generally have more time. In personal injury, a minor has two years from their 18th birthday to file the lawsuit. In medical malpractice, someone who was a minor at the time the malpractice occurred generally can file suit up to eight years after the date of malpractice (but not later than their 22nd birthday).
If you are suing the government for personal injury, you have less time to take action. You’re generally required to give notice of your intent to sue within six months to a year of the date of injury. This notice is separate from the actual lawsuit, but if you fail to give notice your lawsuit may be barred.
In medical malpractice, the deadline may be extended if you didn’t know about your injury at the time it happened. A classic example is when a surgeon leaves a foreign object inside a patient and they discover it years later when they start having symptoms. A situation like this doesn’t extend the deadline indefinitely, however. The outside deadline for medical malpractice is generally four years from the date of injury.
These are just some examples. Each case should be evaluated by an experienced attorney. Don’t give up because you think you waited too long. And don’t delay because you don’t think you can afford legal advice – initial consultations are generally free, and most personal injury attorneys don’t charge anything upfront to take the case. You’ve really got nothing to lose.
Since 2001, findgreatlawyers.com has been the leading resource for Illinois attorney referrals and legal guidance. If you would like our help please contact one of our lawyers via our on-line form or call (800) 517-1614. We are based in Chicago, but help people find attorneys for legal matters throughout Illinois. All inquiries are free and confidential.
If you’re wealthy, you may want to lay low until the estate tax is reinstated next year. Several billionaires have died this year, coincidentally the one year that the government will not take 45% of their estate, leaving potentially millions more for the heirs.
The estate tax can have a significant effect, even on the very wealthy. After his death in 1977, P.K. Wrigley’s family had to sell assets, including the Chicago Cubs, in order to afford the large estate tax on his estate.
The heirs of George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees who died last month, are in a better position. Because he died in 2010, they are going to inherit potentially hundreds of millions more than they would have if a federal estate tax had existed at the time of his death.
The reason for the estate-tax gap is that it expired in 2009 and has yet to be reinstated. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way, but Congress hasn’t yet agreed on a new version. So for one year, the assets of those who die will avoid a hefty tax and heirs will get a lot more than they would have gotten last year, or will get next year.
The federal estate tax only applies to the estates of wealthy individuals. The most recent tax affected estates worth more than $3.5 million. The tax is expected to return in 2011.
There are several tricks of the trade for reducing estate taxes, such as trusts and gifts, although you probably can’t avoid them altogether, unless you leave everything to charity.
Since 2001, findgreatlawyers.com has been the leading resource for Illinois attorney referrals and legal guidance. If you would like our help please contact one of our lawyers via our on-line form or call (800) 517-1614. We are based in Chicago, but help people find attorneys for legal matters throughout Illinois. All inquiries are free and confidential.
There is a popular belief that those who sue are money hungry, and lawsuits are just frivolous actions that are dragging down our society.
As a result, a lot of people we talk to feel bad about taking legal action. Some of them actually apologize for calling us to talk about a possible lawsuit.
The reality is that the vast majority of lawsuits are not frivolous. They are claims made by reasonable people who are injured (physically, financially, emotionally) by someone else and are looking to be made whole again.
In fact, most personal injury lawyers won’t even take on a frivolous lawsuit because they won’t win. And if they don’t win, they don’t get paid. (These lawyers charge on a contingency basis.) So if a lawsuit is filed by an attorney, you can generally assume that it’s based on the law and that the plaintiff has been legitimately harmed. They may not win the lawsuit, but it doesn’t mean the claims were baseless.
As a society, we have set up a system for resolving disputes. It’s not always quick, or efficient, and we’re not saying the outcome is always perfect, but in our opinion it doesn’t deserve the bad rap it gets these days.
If you have an injury and someone else is at fault, it seems perfectly logical to us to hire an attorney and get back what you lost.
To learn more visit, http://www.findgreatlawyers.com/IllPersonalInjury.htm
Since 2001, findgreatlawyers.com has been the leading resource for Illinois attorney referrals and legal guidance. If you would like our help please contact one of our lawyers via our on-line form or call (800) 517-1614. We are based in Chicago, but help people find attorneys for legal matters throughout Illinois. All inquiries are free and confidential.