lack of communication from solicitor

soups05

Just a quick question for the legal eagles here, I was rear ended in oct 14 by a person who left the scene, initiated a personal injuries claim in Jan 15.

This was handled by a solicitor working for the main solicitor I was using for another unrelated matter. There was a flurry of phone calls,forms filled etc then nothing for months. Jan 16 I discovered by accident that the solicitor had left, from the attitude of the receptionist it was not amicable but that's just my guess.

So the main solicitor took over the case and that was fine.

However this solicitor has been very difficult to get an update from. We had a meeting to give statements to the MIBI solicitor in aug 16. Then nothing for months, then promises of an update for weeks.

I was told the solicitor would ring in two weeks, when the two weeks were up they were on holiday and would get back to me in Aug, its now sept and repeated, polite, emails are ignored.

My wife is insisting we ring daily to provoke a response but I am more inclined to wait patiently for the solicitor to respond as am sure they are very busy.


So are we (the wife) being impatient or is the solicitor being a tad unprofessional? I really just want some sort of timeline as to when this will be resolved, a month or two? a year or two? (from the solicitor not you guys of course)

any advice for a layman who never had a claim or any real dealings with solicitors? Can anyone give me a good excuse to give to my beloved but pushy wife lol.

nuac

Mod
Leaving open for discussion. Pls comply with forum rule against Legal Advice.
Title amended for clarity

soups05

thank you nuac, sorry i should have been clearer, am only seeking posters views on the communication aspect not the claim itself.

NUTLEY BOY

Generally speaking, these matters run in waves.

You may have the flurries of excited action as you describe followed by silence periods. Long periods of apparent inaction do not automatically imply a lack of diligence or unprofessional conduct as things happen in the background.

However, if you are uncomfortable about the quality of the service you are receiving, including poor communication, you are always free to withdraw instructions from that firm and engage a new solicitor. Practically speaking, that creates two problems. Firstly, you will have to discharge costs and outlays for the work actually done to date. Secondly, you will have to start with someone new and that can be a pain in the face. (The work already done will not go to waste).

Some people think that solicitors are like certain commercial entities where people demand status reports every Monday morning. Not so with the law which proceeds at it's own pace, something which you might convey to she who must be obeyed. Show her this post if you like and I will take the heat for you ....

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

NUTLEY BOY wrote: »

Firstly, you will have to discharge costs and outlays for the work actually done to date.

Not necessarily. The new firm can give an undertaking to discharge these when the case settles.

hullaballoo

Personal injuries litigation is a slow burner and over the harvest (yes!) months, very little tends to happen as people use the break in court sittings. If the solicitor is the principal of the firm and it's a busy firm, then yes, he is probably very busy and lawyers (both solicitors and barristers) have to prioritise and re-prioritise all the time. Like daily/hourly.

When your case is progressed to a point where there's a material update to give, you ought to get an update. However, if nothing material has changed in months, there's no point in giving constant updates to clients to say "nothing has happened," particularly where there are more pressing issues.

It can be frustrating for both solicitor and client in personal injuries matters because sometimes the solicitor's behaviour seems at odds with the client's interests. One example is intentionally dragging out the litigation in order to ensure the injuries have resolved sufficiently to enable medics to give a reliable prognosis. That's actually in the client's long-term interests but the client almost always wants to get shut of the thing, get their money and forget about it. That is understandable but you get problems when a few years down the line, the niggly symptom that was undiagnosed at the time becomes a serious health issue but you've already settled/gotten an award on medical evidence that was incomplete through no one's fault other than trying to deal with the matter before it was ready.

Mr. Incognito

I am generally up the walls but find time to return calls and emails even if I am busy.

I would ask for an update and if none is forthcoming take your business elsewhere.

soups05

nutely and hullaballoo , that's pretty much my expectation, wheel of justice turn slowly etc.

mr incognito, that is my problem in a nutshell. the solicitor will promise an update, or to arrange a meeting or even to return a call and then nothing. The last information from them was august last year when meeting with the reps from mibi and have heard zero since then.

even a returned call to say bog off it will be another year or so would be better than constant promises of contact lol.

Thank you all for the replies, it helps to have added excuses for the boss

hullaballoo

Over 12 months is probably pushing the slow burner question a bit far, tbh.

McCrack

Telephone the office and make an appointment and go into see your solr for a consultation/update.

kennM

soups05 wrote: »

Just a quick question for the legal eagles here, I was rear ended in oct 14 by a person who left the scene, initiated a personal injuries claim in Jan 15.

This was handled by a solicitor working for the main solicitor I was using for another unrelated matter. There was a flurry of phone calls,forms filled etc then nothing for months. Jan 16 I discovered by accident that the solicitor had left, from the attitude of the receptionist it was not amicable but that's just my guess.

So the main solicitor took over the case and that was fine.

However this solicitor has been very difficult to get an update from. We had a meeting to give statements to the MIBI solicitor in aug 16. Then nothing for months, then promises of an update for weeks.

I was told the solicitor would ring in two weeks, when the two weeks were up they were on holiday and would get back to me in Aug, its now sept and repeated, polite, emails are ignored.

My wife is insisting we ring daily to provoke a response but I am more inclined to wait patiently for the solicitor to respond as am sure they are very busy.


So are we (the wife) being impatient or is the solicitor being a tad unprofessional? I really just want some sort of timeline as to when this will be resolved, a month or two? a year or two? (from the solicitor not you guys of course)

any advice for a layman who never had a claim or any real dealings with solicitors? Can anyone give me a good excuse to give to my beloved but pushy wife lol.

Some good replies already on here... I've gone through the process start to finish (wrote this a couple of years back: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=93328566)

Anyhow, first things first... has your case gone into PIAB for assessment? If so when did that happen?

As someone rightly pointed out these things go through inordinate periods of inactivity which can be frustrating to say the least!!! If it has gone into PIAB they have a 9 month window to come back with an assessed fair level of compensation, I appreciate there are exceptions here (I was one of them) but that's typically the timeframe. When I went through it the running time in PIAB was circa 7/7 and a half months.

I personally experienced the same issue and reverted to what your wife said... I just started calling daily and after a couple of days I got a response and an apologetic letter from the solicitor. To be honest I put it behind us and all was well again.... the solicitor is probably awaiting report/feedback from PIAB and as such there is nothing for them to actively do on your case hence the lack of update.... this is speculation on my behalf though.

Hope this helps.

soups05

Thank you KennM, I will read that shortly. As to your question, I have no idea. We traveled to her office to speak to a solicitor representing the MIBI last august. Since then we have heard nothing apart from oh we will talk soon, I will ring you next week etc etc.

kennM

soups05 wrote: »

Thank you KennM, I will read that shortly. As to your question, I have no idea. We traveled to her office to speak to a solicitor representing the MIBI last august. Since then we have heard nothing apart from oh we will talk soon, I will ring you next week etc etc.

Should be some good advice in thread. The important thing is that MIBI know there will be a PI claim. There are 2 years from the date of the accident to start the claim with PIAB. The question for your solicitor is whether it has been submitted to PIAB yet or not really..... have a read of thread and shout if you have any q's. Not a solicitor and will just give you my experience.... decisions are with you