Wisconsin Legal Malpractice Legal Questions

I am sorry for what happened to you. Unless you have any permanent damage as a result of what occurred in the hospital, it is doubtul the case is worth pursuing from a financial perspective. Medical malpractice cases are exceedingly difficult to pursue and win in Wisconsin. There are many reasons for that but the two chief reasons are (a) caps on non economic damages and (b) 9/10 jury verdicts are for the doctor in Wisconsin. I wrote a blog at our firm's web site on the difficulty of pursuing a medical malpractice case in Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did an excellent essay about the subject about a year ago that you can google to read. If you feel strongly that you were harmed as a result of the medical care you received, you will need to gather up all your medical records and have them reviewed by a malpractice attorney. If they feel there is some substance to your case, they will have your records reviewed by an outside medical consultant to determine if you have a viable medical malpractice case. Under Wisconsin law, a person has three years to sue for medical malpractice from the date of the occurrence. For an injury to a minor child, the statute of limitations in Wisconsin is two years past the age of majority. You don't indicate how old you currently are. ... Read More

I am sorry to hear what happened to you and the shoddy representation you received from your lawyer. It sounds like you have already filed a grievance with the office of lawyer regulation (OLR). I can't tell from your post if the lawyer has been disciplined in your case or you are commenting about prior discipline they may have received. To pursue your malpractice case, you will need a complete copy of your file from the lawyer. The statute of limitations for pursuing a legal malpractice case on Wisconsin is under contract, and a 6 year statute of limitations to start a lawsuit or otherwise the claim would be forever barred.... Read More

The answer to your question is yes, you have a right to sue your lawyer for professional legal malpractice, if in fact they screwed up your case. You may have a hard time finding a lawyer interested in suing them, given the limited damages of your case; the argument being, assuming the lawyer screwed up, how were you damaged financially? Can't the case be properly ref-filed and done? The statute of limitations for suing in Wisconsin is 6 years under contract from the date of the contract (occurrence). Failure to file within the 6 years, would forever bar your claim. You can also consider filing a grievance with the office of lawyer regulation (OLR).... Read More

I assume from your post you are going through a divorce and you are not represented. If you are engaged in custody litigation over your children, you are well advised to hire an experienced family lawyer to help you. You are not entitled to the guardian ad litem's file. The guardian ad litem is an attorney and is court appointed by the trial court to serve as an advocate for the minor children. Their file is protected work product. You or your wife are not entitled to receive  a copy of their file or the GAL's personal notes, nor is the guardian ad litem allowed to testify. You should rather, sit down with an experienced family lawyer in your area and discuss the case, including the likelihood of success, what the cost might be and how long it is going to take. If you are not yet divorced, right now you and your wife should be on an even  (legal) playing field.... Read More

I am not sure your question falls under legal malpractice as  much as it does under lawyer ethics. If you feel your lawyer charged an unreasonable fee for the services, you have the right to file a grievance with the office of lawyer regulation (OLR) in Madison. Before doing so, i would carefully review the agreement with the lawyer; it may have a binding arbitration provision in case of a fee dispute. I would also check every itemized billing statement they sent you to see if the $25,000 was explained in some justified way of what amount of work the lawyer did  in handling the title  conflict for you.... Read More

If you don't believe your current attorney is properly representing you, consider hiring your own private criminal defense attorney to complete your case and substitute the current public defender for your own private lawyer. Look for an experienced criminal defense attorney. You should also be aware that just because the public defender is recommending that you plead to a lesser charge, that doesn't necessarily mean they are not properly representing you or committing legal malpractice. You have to consider what may happen if you take the case to trial and should lose, and what you might be facing as a criminal conviction with monetary penalties and possible incarceration. Like any case, you have to weigh the benefits of settlement v taking the risk and going to trial.... Read More

Medical Malpractice cases are practically extinct in Wisconsin. I wrote a blog at our firm's web site on the difficulty of pursuing a medical malpractice case in this state, and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel likewise, did an excellent essay on it in 2015 that you can google and read. The reasons are many faceted. However, if you feel strongly, that you were  medically harmed, you will need to gather all of your hospital and medical records relevant to the treatment and have them reviewed by a malpractice lawyer of your choice. If the attorney feels you have a viable claim, they will hire or consult with an outside medical expert to determine if there is a case. The statute of limitations is 3 years in the state of Wisconsin to sue for medical malpractice. Failure to file a lawsuit within 3 years from the date of the occurrence, will forever bar your claim.... Read More

You labeled your post as "Legal malpractice." The problem with your wife though is a medical (dental) malpractice issue. These cases are exceedingly difficult to pursue and win. I wrote a blog at our law firm's web site on the difficulty of suing for medical malpractice in the state of Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel did an article about it last year as well. While dental cases may not be quite as difficult or complex as medical cases, they are still very dificult. Here is what I suggest for  your wife; she needs to obtain all of her recent dental records and x rays from the current dentist. Once she receives those records, going back to March 2015, make an appointment with a malpractice lawyer of your choice who can hire a consultant (dentist) to review the records, to determine if there is a viable case. The statute of limitations in Wisconsin for medical malpractice (including dental cases) is three years from the date of the occurrence. Failure to file a lawsuit within 3 years, would forever bar the claim.... Read More

You should start by making sure you have all your essential papers in order; (a) marital settlement agreement, if the case was settled; (b) findings of fact, conclusions of law and judgment of divorce (divorce decree) (c) court transcript from your final court hearing (d) your financial disclosure statement (e) your ex spouse's financial disclosure statement (f) any property division spread sheets that were preapred for the divorce by the attorneys (g) any child support or spousal support calculation worksheets prepared by the attorneys. That would be a starting point on what any attorney might need to initially review your file to determine if an error was made and if so, how substantive in nature it may have affected you. If there was any type of a viable case, at some point, the attorney would want to review the entire file from your former lawyer. If you haven't already requested it, you should probably do that as well. I know I have not specifically answered your question. You can look for a malpractice lawyer by finding a lawyer in your area on AVVO, Lawyers.com, Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America and any other number of professional listings for lawyers. The statute of limitations for legal malpractice in Wisconsin is generallly 6 years under contract. Faillure to file a lawsuit within 6 years from the date of the  occurrence, will otherwise forever bar your clam.... Read More

       There is no definitive answer to your question. Lawyers are under a duty to keep their client reasonably and promptly informed on the status of the case. This doesn't always require "same day" response, but certainly requires a contemporaneous response. It shouldn't take you repeated attempts and weeks on end to get information on your case from your lawyer. To me, that is totally unacceptable. In regard to copies of your file, you own the file, not the lawyer. The lawyer is under a duty to copy and provide you with everything in the file, upon reasonable request, all without charge. If the attorney has periodically provided you with copies of your file and you want them to copy it a second time, under that circumstance, the lawyer can reasonasbly charge you the costs of copying the file.        I can't speak for other lawyers but we have a "same day return" policy in our office. This means that every  e mail, every phone call, and every inquiry from clients, prospective clients and other attorneys, to the extent we reasonably can, gets returned and responded to the same day. To me, it is not just enough to provide the best legal representation, but it is equally as important to provide excellent customer service. You obviously aren't getting that with your current lawyer  and the mesasge I am getting is that they don't seem to care about you or your case. It may be time for you to go shopping for a new lawyer. You don't describe what the nature of your legal case is about so I don't know if you are talking about an injury case, or you are in the middle of a divorce.... Read More

It is not unusual in a custody case for there to be a second psychological evaluation, where one party disagrees with the findings of the first report. Usually, they are court ordered, and when the court allows the second evaluation, it would be provided to the court, the attorneys of record and the guardian ad litem. In most counties, the court will issue an order or there may be a standing local court rule that the parties can read the psychological reports, but not be provided with copies of the same. I'm not sure I completely understand what your criticism is about?... Read More

       If the lawyer handling your employment discriminiation case has blown any time deadlines on your case, she can blame you all she wants, but it is her responsibility. If you have been harmed in any way by her conduct or now your claim is barred, you have  a legitimate legal malpractice case against her. If the deadlines are not either prejudicial to your case and/or do not block your right to proceed, I would look for another employment discrimination lawyer to take over the handlng of your case. Your new lawyer can make arrangements to obtain your file from the lawyer you are firing. You can also file a grievance with the Office of Lawyer Regulation in Madison, WI.  There is an SCR rule dealing with "Competence" of the lawyer, and failing to file legal papers on time, under time deadlines is both  arguably malpractice as well as an ethical violation.... Read More

Lawyers are under a duty to report obvious ethical violations by other lawyers; that is the legal side of things; from a practical perspective, lawyers rarely  report other lawyers for misconduct, except in the most egregious circumstances of ethical violations; your question about coercion is difficult to answer without knowing more of the facts from you.... Read More

It is hard to give you a substantive answer about the viability of your case with no medical facts.  If you want to investigate a malpractice case, you should contact a local medical malpractice attorney (one in your state).  They take these cases on a contingency basis which means you only have to pay if you succeed.  Additionally, initial consultations are usually free. You can use the "Find a Lawyer" service through this website to research medical malpractice attorneys.  Then, visit each attorney's website and look for a firm that has a record of successful verdicts,  ideally with experience in cases that involve your medical issue. If you are unable to find a lawyer who meets these qualifications within your state, sometimes you may contact an out of state lawyer who can refer you to a qualified attorney in your state while providing support related to the issues of medicine. Below are some articles you may find helpful.  They are written for a New Jersey audience (where I practice) but the ideas discussed in these articles usually apply in most other jurisdictions as well. Click here for an article that discusses the three main questions I ask when deciding whether to investigate a potential medical malpractice case. Click here for an article that explains what you can expect when filing a medical malpractice case. Click here and here for more information about me. Please note that by attempting to answer your question, I am not acting as your attorney. I will do nothing further to protect or preserve your interests in the absence of any additional discussion with you about this matter. John Ratkowitz, Esq. Starr, Gern, Davison & Rubin, P.C. 105 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland, NJ 07068 Office: (973) 830-8441 Cell: (732) 616-6278 Fax: (973) 226-0031 Email: jratkowitz@starrgern.com  Skype: john_ratkowitz Web: www.starrgern.com. ... Read More