A personal injury claim may seem like an open and shut case given the facts of the case – you got into an accident, or slipped and fell, or got attacked due to negligent security, or were a victim of medical malpractice, or you suffered head injuries from falling objects and so on, and because of the negligence of another party, you deserve compensation.

However, personal injury law tends to be very complicated in some instances, such as when there was a past legal matter that you handled in an inconsistent manner, preventing you from claiming compensation. The defense team’s work is to lower your compensation as much as is humanly possible, and their investigations may uncover something to do with a divorce proceeding, disability application, or even prior bankruptcy, which may undermine your ability to collect compensation for your current claim.

Known as judicial estoppel, this legal principle was designed to prevent a party from taking inconsistent positions in different legal proceedings, given the sacrosanct nature of the judicial system. While this may seem unfair, the reality is that an innumerable number of people file lawsuits or claims every year, knowing full well they are frivolous in nature, which has then led to full legal dockets that feature cases that have no merit from money-hungry or litigious claimants.

Your honesty and credibility are your shield and defender when it comes to your personal injury claim, and at McCready Law, we believe that providing guidance that is transparent as well as engaging in proactive strategies will go a long way in preventing a past legal action does not jeopardize your ability to seek justice and compensation for your injuries – read on to find out just exactly how we do this.

Are you looking for the best injury attorney? Please call us NOW at (314) 481-63338 to learn more about your legal options for justice and compensation. The experienced injury lawyers at McCready Law have collectively garnered over 90 years of stellar legal experience, where we’ve helped tens of thousands of injured Americans across the country and from all socioeconomic backgrounds receive compensation after falling victim to the negligent actions of other individuals or large corporations.

Thanks to our dedication and passion, we have been able to recover over $260 million for our clients to date, and this number keeps on growing with each passing year, with some of the settlements or judgments we’ve won for our clients rising to the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in the case of loss of life and permanent disability, millions of dollars.

Certain factors can be attributed to our success as a law firm. For instance, we personally handle all claims and do not shunt them over to paralegals or legal assistants, which is a common practice in most law firms that usually jeopardizes claims due to the lack of experience and competence displayed by these legal professionals. In addition, we engage top experts in the medical, forensic science, engineering, and other fields in order to build an impenetrable case replete with evidence demonstrating negligence and will spare no expense to do so.

We run a bilingual firm (hablamos Espanol), have nationwide reach thanks to our trusted and vast network of referral attorneys and law firms, and we take on all cases on contingency fee basis, which simply means that there are ZERO UPFRONT FEES for the duration of the processing of your claim, as we only levy our fees at the end of the suit, and only if we’ve recovered compensation on your behalf.

If you or a loved one suffered injury due to someone else’s negligence, don’t hesitate: call us NOW at (314) 481-63338 to learn more about your legal options for justice and compensation – our intake team is standing by

What Exactly is Judicial Estoppel in the Context of a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Judicial estoppel is a legal doctrine that prevents a usually aggrieved or injured party from asserting a legal position in a legal claim that is not consistent with a position they asserted successfully in a prior position. The reason for this principle is not to punish the litigant for taking said inconsistent position, but to protect the integrity of the law. The courts, in essence, do not take kindly to the manipulation of its systems and advocate for consistency when it comes to legal stances – not hot one day, and then cold the next, when it suits or is convenient for the claimant

Conditions for a Judicial Estoppel to Apply

1. The party must have taken two clearly inconsistent positions on two different legal matters
2. They must have been successful in a prior legal proceeding where the prior court accepted their position and granted the requested relief
3. The party allegedly taking the inconsistent position should be said to be deriving an unfair advantage or imposing an unfair detriment on the opposing party if not estopped.

What Should the Defense Prove in Order to Invoke Judicial Estoppel?

Judicial estoppel is usually asserted by the defense in a personal injury case, so the onus is on them to prove that you are attempting to game the judicial system. They must therefore show that you are currently taking two diametrically oppositional or logically incompatible. For instance, you may have applied for disability in the past claiming severe disability to the extent of not being able to work and then years later, filing an injury lawsuit.

The defense can argue that your current assertions of ability contradict your previous claim of disability as the new accident couldn’t have caused additional “lost earning capacity” if you were disabled from a prior accident or condition prior. In addition, they must demonstrate judicial acceptance of a prior position such as the approval of a statement granting benefits on the claim, showing that you are looking to benefit from filing another claim using fresh facts that contravene the ones presented in your past legal claim.

Lastly, they must demonstrate that there was no inadvertence or mistake when taking the prior legal action which is usually challenging in and of itself.

Can Judicial Estoppel Cancel Out My Injury Claim?

Here are some of the consequences that judicial estoppel can have on your injury claim:

1. You may be prevented from asserting the inconsistent position in your current injury claim since it may contravene a prior legal action such as not being allowed to claim lost earning capacity due to your new injuries when you have a priorly accepted SSDI claim where you claimed total disability
2. Even if invoking judicial estoppel doesn’t prevent you from going forward with your claim, your credibility may take a beating before the jury, and you may be viewed as untrustworthy which may then impact their decision to award you certain damages.
3. A successfully estopped claim may lower the amount of damages you can recover such as lost earning capacity as the law seeks fairness and equilibrium and is not in the practice of awarding damages in an arbitrary manner.
4. You may find yourself with increased litigation costs as your legal team may have to undertake additional research or legal work which usually means more hours billed and resources used on your case.

How McCready Law Fights Against Judicial Estoppel

At McCready Law, we believe in not exposing our injury clients to the proverbial wolves. To this end, we ensure that our intake process is thorough and detailed, and we shall ask detailed questions about your prior legal history and if you filed for divorce, bankruptcy or disability or even workers’ compensation claims as these tend to attract judicial estoppel. We shall also carefully review all documents from prior legal proceedings to understand the context of your prior assertions so they aren’t used against you.

We also ensure to carefully draft legal arguments and pleadings to avoid any assertions that contradict any successful past claims. Last but not least, we shall educate you on judicial estoppel and its implications, and prepare you adequately with regard to deposition so you do not inadvertently estoppel yourself even as you truthfully answer questions from the defense counsel.

Best National Injury Attorneys – Call Us Today!

Regardless of whether you have a past legal claim and are worried that it could potentially jeopardize your injury lawsuit, we’d love to hear from you to see how best we can help you: call us NOW at (314) 481-63338 from wherever you are in the country so we can advise you further on the true value of your potential injury claim. Remember, the call is 100% FREE, and there is no legal obligation. Thanks for choosing McCready Law, and we look forward to helping you.