Personal Injury Attorney & Due Diligence

Hello All,

I am new to this forum and live in the state of Utah and got into a multi-car auto accident back in December 2008 which resulted in my getting whiplash. Let me introduce myself I am a disabled veteran whose VA medical records may have been compromised to the extent that the insurance companies allowed access to these records may have forged documents to get all of my records that I did not authorize them to have. Having told this to my attorney that I hired through LegalMatch.com he basically did nothing about my concerns and did not know the meaning of the term: "Due Diligence" which all lawyers must know or they are deemed incompetent. Since telling this lawyer about something he should know already he has terminated working on my case just before a settlement could be reached and requested fees for his services then stated "Good Luck In Getting A Settlement...". Are there any actions that I should take against this attorney regarding his lack of diligence during the time he worked on my case?

You are free to report any lawyer to the bar association if you feel he or she has not acted appropriately in representing your interest.

If you hired this lawyer through LEGALMATCH, I am not certain that LEGAL match is the place to FIND an answer telling you how to report/complain/etc. against LEGALMATCH.

I have contacted LEGALMATCH headquarters personally and had my concerns responded to in an expeditious fashion. Have you attempted to discuss your concerns with anyone at LEGALMATCH? Users of this site are not lawyers who work for LEGALMATCH referral services.

Alright, I'll bite.

Just what did they learn from their illegal access to your medical records that might impede your getting an equitable settlement? And question 2 is that once the cat is out of the bag, HOW DO YOU EXPECT YOUR LAWYER TO EFFECT A CHANGE?... but more importantly, after you abuse and threaten your lawyer... who is another human being after all, why would you expect him to continue working for you?

Yes, there are attorneys that do things slipshod. But what could your attorney have done to prevent this? The assumption I'm making is that attorneys from the other side could easily have pulled a maneuver from R&J's (a boutique Il law firm) bag of tricks and created a fake court order for discovery... signed by their very own paralegal instead of a judge or one of his minions.

Do I sound jaded? You bet. Reading cases in IL can give you the shivers.

Thanks Denny For Giving A Reply To This Pandora's Box That I Want To Crush & Expose The Contents To The Public. I Guess We All Have To Ponder What The U.S. Military Is Capable Of Doing To All Those Who Volunteered Their Lives To Serve Their Country With Pride And Great Sacrifice. As You Can Tell, My Medical Records Are At The Root Of My Post And The Lack Of Experience By My Attorney To Do His Job Properly And Catch The Cat Without Getting Scratched Up Worries Me A Lot About Him Being A Human Being Who Is Honest, Trustworthy & Brave Enough To Handle Himself As A Representative Of The People. As Far As What Gentle Grace Has Said About Reporting This Guy To His Peers. As The Ol' Western Saying Goes: "Never Put Your Hands In A Box Filled With Rattlesnakes Unless You Want To Get Bit!"

UPDATE: I Reported This Guy To The State Bar Two Weeks Ago And Two Days Ago They Started Biting Me For Trying To Expose One Of Their Own.
Here's A Bit Of Their Representative's Dialogue To Me:

"What Is Due Diligence?"
"Do You Know The Meaning Of What Due Diligence Is?"

Do you know what Due Diligence is?

First of all, you did not ASK a question of me. YOU related dialogue that someone ELSE asked you--not me.

So, I answered your statement with a question. And asking questions is what lawyers do. Let me guess---stupid? (eyeroll)

Obviously you do--obviously you understand what it means? YOU haven't said the first thing to indicate you have ANY understanding of what the term means. What did you say that demonstrated an understanding of the term "due diligence"? You did not define it in the least nor did you reference its meaning.

All the time you spent ASSERTING that you know what it means, you still failed to SAY what it means.

What does it mean?

Better question--what is offensive about being asked if you understand what can be a complex legal term?

Third degree? ONE question is a third degree?

Stop with the dramatics and answer the question.

It is hardly the effrontery you posture that it is. It is a reasonable question--and many posters may NOT know what it means.

Why don't you explain what it means for those who may not know so they can learn?

Borderline offensive??

Pffttttttttttt................

They are asking you if YOU understand the complaint you are making. There is nothing offensive about that. They are trying to make sure THEY understand what YOU are attempting to allege happened in YOUR case. Asking you to explain the term you are using in the context in which you are using it is an attempt at UNDERSTANDING and CLARIFYING your point.

Giants? golden goose?

Please..............