text: can i sue an attorney for failing to notify me of an appeal process that i missed? i applied for disibility thru my employer and was awarded ordinary disibility which allows me 50% of my salary. i was represented by a union atty who was recommending 75% because it was sustained on the job. i was denied. so, i hired an outside of union atty to appeal that decision thru the circuit court which was also denied. this guy however, would send his assoc's. on my behalf, didnt tell me of any court dates coming up so that maybe i would like to appear.but most of all the case takes its entire course,he sits on my letter of denial before he sends it to me.then when i recieved the bad news, if that werent enough,when i called him to discuss the next course of action,(appeal) he proceeds to tell me that there was an appeal time limit and i was no longer within it. when asked why didnt he contact me, he simply stated "i didnt think you wanted to spend anymore money". i told him it wasnt for him to decide and i should have been given the option atleast. needless to say,i feel duped here's the million dollar question -- had he told you, would you have spent the money on the appeal?    here's the next million dollar question -- had you appealled, what were your chances of winning?    these are two of about a thousand questions that will come up in a legal malpractice claim.  a legal mal suit is very, very difficult and unless you have a lot of money lying around, you probably can't afford to file one.  that having been said, go talk to a legal mal attorney right now.  only a competent legal malpractice lawyer in your area, having a greater knowledge of the facts, will be able to advise you of your rights and your chances of success.  once you've done that, make sure and report your former attorney to the state bar.  yes, he screwed up.  he most certainly should have advised you of the time to appeal and left the decision up to you as to whether to appeal.  he should be disciplined for this.  he potentially screwed up very badly.