Many people mistakenly assume that a personal injury lawyer can help whenever someone is injured. In reality, lawyers who handle accident cases have to be very selective with the cases that accept. The reason for this is the attorney only gets paid if he is able to recover for you financial compensation for your injuries. If you find no lawyer is taking on your case, here are some possible reasons as to why.

If the statute of limitations has run out, then no injury attorney will be able to help you. These deadlines are firm with very limited exceptions. If the statute of limitations has expired, no lawyer will take your case because at that point, there is no case to pursue.

Or, if you are more than 50% at-fault for causing the accident, an attorney will not be able to help you. The reason is because under Massachusetts law, if you are partially at-fault, you can still recover financial compensation, as long as you are not more than 50% at-fault. This is called contributory negligence. For example, if you cause a car accident, and are more than 50% no-fault, no lawyer will accept your case.

Additionally, no attorney will take on your case if you were not injured. Hopefully you were not injured in the accident, but you would only need a personal injury attorney if you actually sustained injuries due to the accident, and received medical treatment for your injuries.

Finally, if you waited to long to seek medical attention following your accident, a lawyer may not be able to take on your case. A reasonable delay is ok, but if it’s more than that, a lawyer won’t be able to help you because it will be too hard to prove the claimed injuries are due to the accident.