Not being able to help everyone who calls us is a sad reality of this job.
Your Lawyer Often Grieves With You
As an Iowa trial lawyer representing severely injured people or the loved ones left behind after a wrongful death, I get sad sometimes. I don’t get sad when I hear the personal injury or ambulance chaser jokes. They are what they are and really don’t mean much next to a person who was really hurt in a car crash or someone who lost their mom due to nursing home neglect.
I truly grieve for the personal losses and my client’s actual experience. I cannot be in their shoes but I try to feel it. I really do not know how else I could understand it. Nobody wants to be involved in such a loss, a lawsuit, dealing with lawyers, insurance companies… I get that. Nobody wants these losses but they happen.
Personal Injury Attorneys Cannot Help Everyone
Another thing that makes me sad and something I especially wanted to address right now are all the folks we cannot help. We turn down a lot more cases than we accept. We have to do this due to sheer workload and number of people who want to hire us – we simply cannot take every case. It is only fair that we fully represent our existing clients. We can only take on cases that we’re able to completely commit to take all the way to a verdict.
While some people do not want to hear it, sometimes bad situations do not “fit” in the legal system very well. There are many rules, standards, deadlines, requirements, etc. (most put into place by powerful people and industries) that prevent potential cases from ever getting justice.
Turning down cases is not something any of us enjoy. Everyone who experiences a loss wants accountability. Sometimes this simply cannot happen in the legal system. Telling potential clients this sometimes makes them angry or sad – they do not understand why their potential claim cannot go forward.
We do our best to take on what we can and will keep on fighting. Those who know us also know we care. We are not dismissive, nor do we take anyone’s loss lightly. If we can’t help you or your family, all I can really say is, if you will allow me to do so, I am sorry.
