When you’re involved in a court case, you’re going to be given specific deadlines and important dates. Court dates will happen on certain days, for instance, and you need to be present at the correct times. Missing these deadlines could be very problematic and may even derail your case entirely.
But missing court dates isn’t the worst thing that can happen. One big issue is if you miss the statute of limitations. For example, California has a statute of limitations for personal injury cases. They can only be brought for two years after the date of the injury.
How could this constitute legal malpractice?
This could be legal malpractice if your team makes a mistake that jeopardizes the result.
For instance, say that you provide all of the proper paperwork and information to your legal team 18 months after the injury. You’ve gathered evidence from medical professionals that you feel will easily win you the case and the financial compensation that you deserve.
But then your lawyer forgets to file your paperwork on time, or perhaps they misplace that paperwork. For whatever reason, they miss the two-year deadline, and you have now exceeded the statute of limitations. You would’ve won the case if your lawyer had simply filed the paperwork on time, so you blame their negligence for your lack of financial compensation.
This is just one example of how important deadlines are. If you do believe you’ve been the victim of legal malpractice, you need to know what options you have next. You may still be able to seek appropriate compensation from the negligent parties.