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Proving Causation In A Legal Malpractice Case

Proving Causation In A Legal Malpractice Case

When an attorney conducts falls below the required standards. A client always has a remedy by filing a legal malpractice case. However, for a client to win the malpractice case. He/she must prove that the attorney had a duty to act properly. The duty was breached, and this made them suffer harm which is the causation. And due to the harm, they suffered financial strains. Proving causation in a legal malpractice claim is one of the most difficult tasks.

You may require proving that were it not for your attorney negligence; you would not have suffered the financial loss. There is no legal claim that can succeed without focusing on the primary concern of the claim, which is the issue of causation. The main question is to have a way to unfold the analytical trap of whether the defendant’s actions caused your financial losses.

While this question seems deceptively simple, one may struggle to find a satisfying answer. Thus, one may require the help of an experienced legal malpractice lawyer to guide on the right path to take to recover from damages suffered.

At first glance, one may think that proving causation is a simple concept. Wait until you have been requested by the court to determine the causal link between causation and the alleged damages. This is what brings in the concept of “but for.” Remember that no matter how your attorney may seem outrageous. If there is any little doubt about your original action. It may be hard to recover any damages from your malpractice case.

This means that you may be required to conduct a trial within a trial to prove the validity of your underlying claim. In such a case, you need to understand the legal malpractice attorney contingency basis. That will significantly help you get the best legal advice you may require to succeed in your case. Having a legal expert prove causation in your underlying case is vital due to several reasons. Some of these include:

  • As a malpractice plaintiff, you will be faced with a tough job of attempting to prove that your former lawyer acted in a way that resulted to your financial loss. Obtaining testimony a helpful testimony from your former attorney may not be straightforward. Thus, you require an expert in legal malpractice to come with an unwavering position on the merits of the underlying cause.
  • Jurisdictional and practical obstacles of obtaining evidence: You lawyer must rely on a third party to get the proof. In this case, the third party is your former negligent lawyer. Third-party evidence sometimes becomes challenging to compel. However, with the help of an expert, he/she may act quickly to ensure the evidence from getting lost or being innocently destroyed. 
  • To provide evidence of the causation, damages must be tied to the alleged negligent conduct. This would help to provide evidence of causation

With the above, your legal malpractice expert can rule out any intervening factor that may have caused you financial loss. 

Questions Your Legal Malpractice Lawyer Should Be Ready To Answer

For you to rule out whether your legal malpractice lawyer will come up with the defendant’s negligent conduct. You may need to be assured that he/she will answer the below questions

  • Are you an expert in legal malpractice cases?
  • Can you offer an opinion on the causation? This brings about whether your legal malpractice lawyer can present a causation testimony to survive the judgment and help you win.
  • Will you evaluate the damage analysis and link it to the wrongful acts in question? This means that your legal malpractice lawyer needs to know with reasonable certainty what led to the malpractice

A trial within a trial certainly presents challenges. However, the likelihood of your success will be driven by the admissibility of your expert causation testimony. Meaning, if the testimony is deemed inadmissible by the court. This may cost exponentially more than what you could have lost due to the negligent acts by your former lawyer.

Nevertheless, as a client, you have the right to competent representation. And if this is not achieved, you may have a right to legal malpractice. A plaintiff should not let these challenges stand in the way of obtaining justice. 

Getting Tailored Opinions For Your Malpractice Case

Legal malpractice cases are challenging to win and also expensive. Therefore, looking for the best legal malpractice lawyer will mean the difference between success and failure for the second time. The numerous obstacles make it reasonable to have an expert maneuver through and search for the burden of proof.

He/she can also look for any evidence needed for an effective case evaluation and trial preparations. In summary, regardless of any formulation employed. Your legal malpractice lawyer needs to prove that the negligence of your attorney was the proximate cause of your damages.