Legal Question in Legal Malpractice in Maryland

Failure to notify the Defendant in Accident claim.

I live in WV, but the accident & my lawyer is in MD, and the original accident case was filed in MD. My lawyer for accident case filed the case in court just in time for the statute of limitations. However apparently my lawyer notifyed the defendant that he was being sued by certified mail, and never received the certified mail return receipt. I recently received notice from the courts notifying me that the dismissal of my case was being postponed so my lawyer can have time to prove that the defendant was actually notified. Which I don't know how he can do that if he doesn't have the returned receipt. Anyway, I was previously offered an 11,000 settlement from the defendants insurance company. I don't know if it matters, but I do have pre-existing condition, but I also have a letter from my treating physician that the accident definatly agravated/increased the injury. Do I have a legal malpractice case????????


Asked on 4/03/01, 12:28 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence Holzman Holzman Law Firm, LLC

Re: Failure to notify the Defendant in Accident claim.

You probably won't have a malpractice case until and unless your attorney loses his bid to keep your case alive. At present, he may be able to simply request that the court reissue the summons and then re-serve the defendant. If he can't prove his service by mail, that's going to be the next best thing and the state courts in maryland are relatively generous when it comes to reissuing a summons.

If your case is dismissed and you believe that malpractice has been committed, please feel free to contact me right away at the address and telephone given below and I will be happy to chat with you.

Lawrence R. Holzman, Esquire

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.

6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400

Greenbelt, MD 20770

(301) 220-2200

fax (301) 220-1214

Disclaimer: Please note that the posting of this response is not intended to constitute legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain information applicable to your situation. This posting is not confidential or privileged and does not create an attorney/client relationship.

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Answered on 6/06/01, 2:10 am


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