Suing A Tennessee Lawyer for Legal Malpractice
I was hurt in a car wreck in Carthage, Tennessee last year. I hired a lawyer one month after the wreck. She called me last week, and told me she forgot to file my lawsuit on time. She said he filed it late and hopes that the other side won't say anything but that if they figure it out my case will be dismissed. What do I do now?
Your lawyer did the right thing by telling you that she made an error. The failure to file a lawsuit within the one year period required by Tennessee law is legal negligence absent extraordinary circumstances not apparent from your question.
You need to hire a different lawyer to help you evaluate your case and, if necessary and appropriate, assert a claim against the lawyer. To prove your case, you will need to prove that the lawyer committed malpractice by not filing the case on time. You will also need to prove that more likely than not you would have won the underlying case (the care wreck case). Lawyers refer to this second case as "the case within the case."
Deadlines apply to cases against lawyers. Ordinarily, you must file a malpractice case against a lawyer within one year of the time you discovered or reasonably should have discovered that you had a claim against the lawyer.
Do not attempt to reach a settlement with the lawyer without seeking independent advice. You need a different lawyer to help you evaluate the case and determine a fair value for the case.
