When an attorney represents you in a case, they have duties to you as a client. These duties are things that an attorney must do or not do while representing you. One of these duties is the duty to disclose or inform the court of their client’s potential disability. In Kentucky, it can matter that an attorney discloses their client’s disability because their failure to do so can harm their client. The case Estate of Barbara Rose Christo v. The Law Offices of Thomas Leahy analyzes an attorneys’ duty to you and other potential clients whom they represent.
Estate Of Barbara Rose Christo V. The Law Offices Of Thomas Leahy
In the above case, the issue of disability involved probate (the handling of assets that are a part of someone’s estate). The assets in Leahy came from a wrongful death case where The Law Offices of Thomas Leahy (Leahy) represented the Plaintiff, Barbara Rose Christo (Barbara Rose), and her brother. Leahy obtained a $550,000 award for Barbara Rose and the same amount for her brother. Several years later, Barbara Rose was legally determined to be disabled. At that time, Barbara Rose was appointed a guardian, the County Public Guardian of Cook County in Illinois. While serving as Barbara Rose’s guardian, the guardian found out that Barbara Rose’s brother was wrongfully taking money from her award from the previous wrongful death case award. The public guardian sued Leahy for professional negligence for failing to obtain a guardian for Barbara Rose before she was given the money from the wrongful death case.
At the trial court level, the court found that Leahy was not negligent in failing to tell the court that Barbara Rose was disabled. However, the case was appealed to the Illinois Appeals Court, and the court reversed the trial court’s previous decision.
At the appeals court level, Leahy argued that they did not know that Barbara Rose was disabled. However, the appeals court ultimately reversed the trial court’s decision based on a few different grounds. The appeals court relied on evidence dating from before the wrongful death case, presented in the earlier trial, and testimony from medical professionals.
With respect to recognizing Barbara Rose’s condition, the court looked to events that took place before Leahy had first represented Barbara Rose. Leahy initially represented Barbara Rose in the wrongful death case, which happened in 1996. However, before Leahy’s representation, Barbara Rose applied for Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, for mental retardation in 1984, more than a decade before Leahy’s representation. This evidence showed that the condition was recognized before Leahy took Barbara Rose on as a client and did not develop later. Additionally, the appeals court relied on Leahy’s attorneys’ own words. In a closing statement for the previous case, Leahy acknowledged Barbara Rose’s condition. He said that, while Barbara Rose had denied that she was disabled, that he “could tell.”
The appeals court also relied on evidence from medical professionals and the county guardian when making their ruling. A clinical and forensic psychologist testified that, due to the severity of her condition, Barbara Rose’s condition could not have been missed by the defendants. The psychologist testified that Barbara Rose’s condition would have been recognizable within moments of meeting her.
Disability Disclosures: Why They Matter
An attorney must disclose client disabilities to the court to protect their clients from further harm. In this case, the appeals court found legal malpractice because their client had a disability, and the evidence suggested that the lawyers knew about it and did not act to protect their client.
Kentucky Malpractice Lawyer
To learn more about attorney duties relating to disability disclosures, including how this affects your potential legal malpractice lawsuit, you should speak with William F. McMurry & Associates. Notably, Mr. McMurry is the ONLY Board Certified Legal Malpractice lawyer with decades of experience in helping Kentucky clients obtain recoveries against the lawyers who have failed them. Mr. McMurry is Board Certified as a Legal Malpractice Trial Specialist in Kentucky by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. For a consultation with William F. McMurry & Associates, call (502) 326-9000 or contact us online.