I have a question...i was caught driving while barred inthe state of iowa and i was given a public defender and i had talked to her about what had happened and she worked with me on getting a plea bargan. Well as it turned out it had worke dand she talked to the prosecutor and ended up making a deal where i would pay a $625 fine and spend 5 days in jail. My sentenceing date was given to me and my lawyer told me that she would type up the paper work and and mail to me so i could sign it and write in the days that i wanted to go to jail. Well that never happened and i got a warrent out for my arrestand they got me and i spent 7 days in jail waiting for court. When i went to court and they just gave me the fine and gave me 7 days in jail time served, but because i was in jail i couldn't contact my job a tell them so i got fired. Later out i found out that my lawyer had gone to Florida on vaccation instead of doing the paper work. So my question is can i sue her for loss of job or anything or am i just screwed.

A:

Yes you can. They carry malpractice insurance to cover their stupidity. Contact the person in charge of the office and ask to be placed in touch with their malpractice carrier. Welcome to the new legal work ethic. You should probably explain it to your boss and perhaps they will rehire you. I'd also suggest you file a written complaint with the Iowa Bar Association's Attorney Discipline Committee. Who is the lawyer? Here is the link to the complaint form. Good luck.

http://www.iowacourts.gov/wfdata/files/attorney_complaint_form_july_05.doc

For good advice see a lawyer and if you have questions about this blog, the law or your case write or call me directly. Steve Lombardi, sdlombardi@aol.com and 515-222-1110. I handle all types of personal injury cases including car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, workers' compensation cases. We help truckers all across the country who come through Iowa and end up in an accident. If we need other lawyers from other states we hire them and it costs you no more than what you would pay us; in other words, we split the fee between us. So call 515-222-1110 or email us at sdlombardi@aol.com. 

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