Is this level of delay/communication normal in a serious personal injury case, or is this as bad as it looks?
I don't know a ton about legal stuff but in my experience this seems really weird to me, I was wondering if you guys could please help me find out if this guy is dicking around or not?
I wrote evvvvverything I know about it into chatGPT and got it to summarize it neatly for me because the way I had things written was totally chaotic:
A child was seriously injured in Alberta about 10 years ago in what appears to be a negligence / occupiers’ liability situation. The family lives in another province and hired an Alberta lawyer not long after. The claim appears to be the child’s claim.
What seems off to me:
- In 2016, the lawyer opened the file, got authorizations signed, and started collecting records.
- In 2017, he sent a draft Statement of Claim and said he was very close to filing.
- Also in 2017, he again said they were getting closer to filing and that they technically had until the child’s 20th birthday.
- In 2018, he was still saying he was reviewing records and preparing things.
- In 2019, after the family reached out asking for an update because they had not heard from him in a long while, he said they were ready to move forward, working on a settlement proposal, and preparing for a “long war.”
- Also in 2019, he later admitted he had been “out of touch” and said they were still collecting more information.
- In 2020, there was a firm-change / file-transfer issue when he moved to his own office.
- In 2023, there was a Zoom meeting.
- In late 2024, he said the Statement of Claim was still on his desk for review and that he intended to file it soon.
- In 2026, there was another Zoom update meeting.
So the contact pattern looks something like this:
- most of the activity was in 2016–2019
- then much less
- then a 2020 Zoom
- then a 2023 Zoom
- then a 2024 email saying he still planned to file
- then a 2026 Zoom
Other red flags:
- Over roughly 10 years, there have been no phone calls at all.
- There have only been 3 Zoom meetings total.
- There have only been a handful of emails, and nearly every time it was the family reaching out first asking for an update.
- The lawyer seems to have gone back and forth for years between:
- almost ready to file
- getting closer to filing
- ready to move forward
- working on a settlement proposal
- still collecting information
- still reviewing records
- and then apparently still not having filed
- The copy the family has of the Statement of Claim has no court file number and no filing stamp. (It's the draft he sent in 2017)
- The lawyer has never really given the family a proper overall explanation of:
- what the litigation plan is
- what stage the case is at
- what strategy he is using
- what the actual next steps are
- what exactly he is waiting for
- Other than asking for factual information and medical records, he has never really had meaningful discussions with them about the actual case itself.
- The family feels like they have basically been kept in the dark the whole time.
The limitation issue is what worries me most. The child was a minor at the time of the injury and is now close to 20. The lawyer seems to be relying on the idea that the limitation period was suspended while the child was a minor, which may be legally relevant, but it still seems bizarre to wait until the absolute last stretch to apparently file anything.
My questions:
Does this level of communication sound remotely normal for a serious injury case over 10 years?
Is the repeated “almost ready to file” / “getting closer” / “soon” pattern a major red flag?
Is it a serious concern that the family has never been given a real summary of the case plan and has mostly had to chase the lawyer for scraps of information?
Is it reasonable at this point for them to demand, in writing, the court file number, stamped filed claim, full file, retainer agreement, and disbursement ledger?
If they switch lawyers now on a contingency file, how does that usually work?
The most recent zoom meeting was on the 14th and they weren't given any new information other than that he was ready to file. He's said that so many times before that I'm afraid it's bullshit. I'm afraid he's just trying to run out the clock so he can wash his hands of this or something.
And In the Alberta Law code of conduct I found some of things I mentioned under Quality Of Service that he wasn't following.
Personally I think they should call and get the claim filing number and some kind of summary of everything he's supposedly been working on.
I also think they should have a consultation with another lawyer and get their opinion, but I figured I'd ask here first to make sure I'm not blowing this out of proportion.
Not asking Reddit to decide malpractice from a post. I’m just trying to figure out whether this is as abnormal as it looks, or whether I’m missing something. Thank you! 😊