A lawyer who declines a case is usually commenting on the file and not on the person bringing it. The common reasons are a deadline that has already passed, evidence that cannot prove what the claim needs, a conflict with an existing client, and a claim whose likely recovery would be smaller than the cost of pursuing it. Understanding why a lawyer declines a case tells you what to do next, and often there is something to do.
The Limitation Date Is the First Thing Checked
Every claim has a deadline, and in the Atlantic provinces most injury claims must be started within two years from the day the injury was known or ought to have been known. A firm that reads the dates and finds the period expired will decline, because starting an action that is bound to be struck helps nobody. The rule has exceptions: discoverability can move the start date, a claimant who was a minor is usually protected while under age, and a claim against a municipality can carry a much shorter written-notice rule that ends long before the two years. If a firm declines on timing alone, ask which date they used and say so if the injury was discovered later than the accident. The same timing rules apply to a car accident claim.
The Evidence Has to Prove the Elements, Not the Unfairness
A claim is a set of elements a court must find, and each one needs evidence. A complaint about what happened is not enough. A slip on ice needs proof of the surface, the weather and what the occupier did about it, which is why the maintenance log and the footage matter in a trip and fall claim. A disability denial needs medical opinion in the form the policy asks for. Where the record cannot support an element, a lawyer will say so instead of taking a retainer on a claim that ends at the first motion.
A Conflict Is About the Firm, Not the Claim
A firm cannot act against its own client, and it cannot act where it holds confidential information from the other side. So a strong claim is sometimes declined by one firm and taken the same week by another. A conflict is not a judgment about the merits, and a firm that declines for that reason should say so plainly and point you elsewhere.
Economics Decide Some Claims That Are Otherwise Good
Injury work at this firm is done on contingency, which means the firm funds the cost of the file and is paid from the recovery. A claim with real liability but very small damages can still cost more to prove than it can ever return, especially where an expert report is needed. The minor injury cap is often what makes the difference: a capped soft tissue injury has a ceiling that an expert-heavy file will exceed in disbursements alone. A lawyer who explains this is giving you the arithmetic and is not dismissing the injury.
What to Do When a Firm Says No
Ask for the reason in one sentence, and ask whether it is timing, evidence, conflict or economics, because each has a different answer. Timing may be arguable. Evidence can sometimes be gathered, and the sooner the better, since footage is overwritten and witnesses move. A conflict means try another firm. Economics may change if the injury turns out to be more serious than it first looked, so a firm that declines early will often ask you to come back if the medical picture changes.
A Second Opinion Is Normal and Costs Nothing Here
Firms differ in what they take. A claim outside one firm’s practice is another firm’s ordinary work, and a first call at this firm is free whether or not anyone else has looked at the file. If a lawyer has already declined, bring what they told you, because it saves the next lawyer the time of finding the same problem. If the deadline is close, say so at the start of the call. You can contact the firm or read what we can do for you, which sets out the steps taken on a new file in the first weeks.