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In legal matters, individuals may have to meet various deadlines, such as filing claims within a specific time after their cause of action accrued, or submitting documents to courts or administrative agencies. Missing deadlines can make or break an individual’s case, potentially leading to the loss of critical legal rights or options. When an individual hires an attorney to handle their case, and the attorney misses a deadline, the individual may have the right to pursue financial recovery for their lost rights or claims through a legal malpractice action in Connecticut.
What Counts as a Missed Deadline?
Legal matters may have various deadlines for parties to meet, such as:
- Statutes of limitations for filing lawsuits
- Return dates for motions
- Appeal deadlines
- Due dates for administrative filings
- Court-ordered deadlines during litigation, such as discovery responses or expert disclosures
Missing a deadline in a legal case can have catastrophic consequences. For example, missing the statute of limitations may mean the court will dismiss a lawsuit regardless of the case’s merits. Missing discovery deadlines during litigation can lead to financial sanctions or adverse jury instructions. As a result, a client may lose critical legal rights due to missed deadlines.
When Does a Missed Deadline Become Legal Malpractice
A missed deadline may become legal malpractice when an attorney fails to file paperwork on their client’s behalf before an applicable deadline due to the attorney’s negligence. A legal malpractice claim will require a client to establish several elements, including:
- The existence of an attorney-client relationship (the client reached out to the attorney for advice or representation, and the attorney agreed to provide that support)
- The attorney breached their duty of care (such as failing to act within applicable deadlines)
- The attorney’s breach of the duty of care harmed the client
Sometimes, missed deadlines may not rise to the level of legal malpractice. For example, an attorney may obtain relief from a missed deadline, such as getting the court’s permission to submit a late filing, resulting in no harm to the client’s case. However, missed deadlines that result in the dismissal of a client’s case may give the client a viable malpractice claim.
Consequences of Late Filing in Connecticut
Some of the potential consequences of a late filing in a legal matter include:
- Loss of the right to pursue a lawsuit due to the expiration of the statute of limitations
- Dismissal of a court case or a motion, resulting in the loss of claims or defenses
- Sanctions, including financial penalties to reimburse opposing parties for legal costs, or adverse rulings, such as adverse inference instructions to juries
- Reduced leverage settlement negotiations due to a weakened legal position after the loss of claims or defenses
How Clients Can Prove a Malpractice Claim
A client may prove that their attorney committed legal malpractice by missing deadlines in the client’s underlying legal matter through various evidence, such as:
- Documents of applicable deadlines, such as a court’s case management order
- Proof of missed filings, including case dockets, court orders, and correspondence
- Expert testimony from other attorneys regarding the applicable standard of care
Sometimes, a client bringing a malpractice claim must prove the “case within a case,” which means they must show that they would have obtained a successful outcome or achieved a better result in their underlying legal matter and, as a result, suffered prejudice because their lawyer missed a deadline.
Contact a Legal Malpractice Attorney Today
Lawyers have an ethical obligation to ensure they meet all applicable deadlines in their client’s case. Contact Stanfield Bechtel Law today for a free initial consultation with a legal malpractice attorney to learn how missing deadlines in your underlying legal matter in Connecticut may give you the right to pursue financial recovery from your attorney in a malpractice claim.