We talk to a lot of potential clients about their problems to determine whether we can help them. Although the people who contact us have been harmed, that is just the beginning of our inquiry. The law requires that certain criteria be met in order to make a claim against someone. These rules apply regardless of whether the potential client wants to file an insurance claim or a lawsuit. If the person who has been injured cannot answer each question, we simply cannot proceed. If we did, we would be filing a frivolous lawsuit or claim and we cannot do that!
To help you in your search for an attorney, it is important to ask yourself these questions first before contacting an attorney.
Here are the three questions you must be able to answer:
1. What did the Defendant do wrong?
The “defendant” is the name given to the person who is being sued. In other words, if you believe someone wronged you, what was it that they did wrong? And, did they owe you a legal duty not to harm you? An easy example is a car wreck where the other driver runs a red light and hits you. The law imposes a duty on all drivers not to run a red light. If the other driver broke this law and hurt you as a result, they breached a duty and harmed you. That is what the Defendant did wrong. Another example is if you entered into a contract to purchase something from someone. The contract creates certain duties and obligations upon the parties to the contract. If the person you entered into a contract with didn’t give you what you paid for, that person may have breached the contract. So, in these two scenarios, the answer to the question of “What did the defendant do wrong?” Is, “he ran a red light and crashed into me” or “she didn’t give me what I paid for.”
2. How did the Defendant’s conduct harm you?
If another person breached a legal duty to you, it only matters if you were harmed. For example, if another driver ran a red light, but didn’t crash into you or cause you to be injured, then you don’t have a claim. Likewise, if a doctor performed a medical procedure incorrectly, but you were not injured as a result, you do not have a claim. Sometimes, people contact us when the Defendant did something wrong and they were harmed, but the cost of the harm is simply not large enough to merit doing anything about it. For example, if someone owes you $500, does it really make financial sense for you to spend more money than that to hire an attorney and several months to go to court to win your case? Sometimes, you just have to let things go or find another way to seek justice– like filing your claim in small claims court.
3. What do you want us to do about it?
Surprisingly, people have a difficult time answering this question. Sometimes, the answer is “reimburse me for my medical bills” or “fix my car” or “pay me back for the time I missed from work.” Other times, people need to have their insurance claims paid or they simply need to be paid for their inconvenience and pain, because money is the only thing that can be done to compensate them (after all, you cannot un-break a leg!). The one thing we usually cannot do is “make them stop saying that about me.” If someone is defaming you or trying to hurt your business reputation, we cannot call the police to make the person stop saying something about you or even get a court order to make them be quiet. But, we can seek money to pay you for the damage to your reputation.
The law is complicated and the rules and terminology often make it even more confusing. However, the law is designed to make our society more just, safe and orderly. Sometimes, the answer to your problems can be helped by consulting an attorney, other times, an attorney cannot help. Determining whether we can help you depends on your answers to these three questions.
If you are facing a problem and you think you need an attorney, ask yourself these three questions– and answer them! Then, give us a call and let’s see how we can help you.
Nelson Boyd is personal injury law firm in Seattle, Washington. Attorneys Deborah Nelson and Jeff Boyd have over 50 years of combined legal experience representing injured people and suing insurance companies on behalf of policyholders.
