Legal Question in Personal Injury in North Carolina

You should contact an attorney who has experience with legal malpractice claims to get some specific advice. While you are looking for an attorney for specific advice, here are some things you can do to make sure things are on track.

Send a letter to the attorney certified mail, return receipt requested, asking for a complete copy of your case file, the name and address of his/her malpractice insurance company and a copy of the claim he/she said was filed. If you do not get a response in 30 days, you might consider notifying the State Bar. If you do get a response, call the insurance company to verify that a claim has been filed on your behalf. Keep a signed copy of the letter, your postage receipt, and the signed 'green card' or the other delivery confirmation from the post office. Be sure and preserve everything related to your case that you have already - a copy of your contract with the lawyer, medical bills, accident report, etcetera.

That's a good answer. I would also suggest that before doing anything (e.g. sending a certified letter), that you find a good malpractice lawyer. Going to the Bar is not typically a good idea at this stage; many people jump the gun on that. You also need a lawyer who practices personal injury, and who can evaluate your case. I have sued lawyers before, and have assisted lawyers who were sued, and I also practice personal injury. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Missing a statute is a huge mistake for a lawyer to make. And lets call a spade a spade, saying "will benefit me with: a faster settlement, and probably a larger settlement" is very likely short for keep your pie hole shut so's I don't get in trouble and it will be worth your while. Very inappropriate if that's what was meant. If you are a moral person, this puts you in a bad position because you will be quite tempted to extort your lawyer for a sum larger than you deserve because your attorneys career hinges on the choices you make and quite frankly your attorney may be happy to pay it. What ever decision you make do not attempt to extort money from your lawyer - this is a crime. You basically have two options: 1) to rat out your attorney to the bar and let the chips fall where they may or 2) to settle with your attorney in some fashion be it directly, through your attorneys malpractice insurance or through your own malpractice attorney and rely on your original attorney to do the right thing regarding informing the bar (not likely to happen but it is the attorney's responsibility not yours unless you feel the need to protect the public from future instances like this). Of course, if you do hire a malpractice attorney, that attorney is most likely going to be obligated to inform the bar. At this point, getting a copy of your file is important but I disagree with the certified mail approach because time could be of the essence. You should do that in person ASAP and by ASAP I mean now, there's no reason you can't get it the same day - if they give you lip, a mere mention of going to the bar will likely light quite the fire under them. I also disagree with waiting around for 30 days or more. If your case is worth enough and the attorney is facing enough heat - lawyers, files and bank/trust accounts have a way of disappearing to Mexico or god only knows where and you could end up with a possible pittance from the bars bad lawyer fund. You now have a potential case against your attorney and there is nothing wrong with you and your attorney coming to a settlement of that case privately as long as there is no fraud, extortion or other criminal aspects. So unless your attorney also has a check to your satisfaction (and that requires you knowing what your case is actually worth) that day along with your file then your best bet is most likely to go see a malpractice attorney with your file in hand - again ASAP!