Legal malpractice in Florida is a serious matter. If you had an attorney who behaved negligently with your case, you have two years from the incident to take action. The clock starts when you know (or should have known) that there is an issue, so it might not be on the exact date on which the malpractice began or occurred.
Another important point to remember in these cases is that there must be actual loss associated with the malpractice. That loss must be directly related to the negligence of the attorney. If no loss occurs, there isn’t a valid malpractice claim.
In order to have a claim, you must also be a client of the attorney. There are limited circumstances in which a third-party might be able to file a claim, but these aren’t common at all. Establishing an attorney-client relationship is easy if you have a contract. This outlines all the pertinent information about what the attorney should do for you, as well as your responsibilities to them. Without a signed contract, you might have difficulties with your case.
Legal malpractice cases often require that you have an expert witness who can attest to the standard of care that you should have received. This can be difficult for a person to obtain on their own because the legal community is a tight one and many lawyers won’t speak out against another attorney.
Working with an attorney who is familiar with these types of cases can help you tremendously. They can handle the legal matters while you try to piece back together the aspects of your life that were damaged by the malpractice.