Eu usaria um LEFT JOIN
SELECT CASES.*, USERS.*, USER_META.*
FROM CASES
JOIN USERS ON USERS."user_id" = CASES."user_id"
LEFT JOIN USER_META ON USER_META."user_id" = USERS."user_id" AND USER_META."meta_key" = ?
SELECT CASES.*, USERS.*, USER_META.*
FROM CASES
JOIN USERS ON USERS."user_id" = CASES."user_id"
LEFT JOIN USER_META ON USER_META."user_id" = USERS."user_id" AND USER_META."meta_key" = ?
