Legal Question in Personal Injury in Maryland

Re: retaining a new personal injury attorney when the first one declines to file

Tell him or her the truth. Bring with you copies of the file which you should be able to get from the former lawyer. Act quickly as you may be up against a deadline, imposed by the statute of limitations, depending upon the age of your son and the date of the accident.

Re: retaining a new personal injury attorney when the first one declines to file

What you say is exactly what you said here. You will need to get the file from the former lawyer and provide it to new counsel. If liability is reasonably clear, most personal injury attorneys will take cases reasonably worth $50,000.00 to court. You need to see an experienced personal injury attorney - one who does have experience in court - and go over all of the facts with him/her. For a case to be worth taking (on a contingent fee, which is how most lawyers handle these cases), it must have a good basis for liability, sufficient damages, and be collectible (assets or insurance coverage). If any of these is lacking, the lawyer is unlikely to take the risk.

I practice in MD, DC, and VA, and would be happy to discuss this case with you. You should act quickly so that suit can be filed before the statute of limitations runs (generally 3 years in MD, but it varies elsewhere, and there are circumstances where it is shorter in MD).

Re: retaining a new personal injury attorney when the first one declines to file

It is not clear to me why the attorney did not want to file suit in your case given the facts that you have presented. For the most part, attorneys who regularly practice litigation in Maryland do take cases with damages in the range that you suggest, so long as liability is not terribly in doubt and if there is also some insurance coverage.

You should quickly (statutes of limiations may have already run in some cases) find an experienced trial attorney and have this case reviewd.

Every year, our office handles various types of personal injury litigation from relatively small matters, to those where damages mount to many millions of dollars.

I would be happy to speak with you about your case. Please feel free to call me at the phone number and address indicated below.

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.

Envision a favorable outcome

You tell the attorney that you have fired him. Tell him to

provide your file and leave the matter be. The prior attorney

may bill you for fees or costs in accordance with any fee agreement that you had.

Let the succeeding attorney handle any discrepancies for you.

Obtain the service of another attorney. One who is skilled with insurance law and negotitation as

well as litigation. Contact me to discuss you case.

Maryland's statute of limitations is 3 years for tort actions (i.e., the date of the eye injury). A different

date may apply for an action of non-coverage coverage against the insurance company but this applies in very limited cases.

G. Joseph Holthaus

(410) 799-9002

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