When you have been injured due to no fault of your own, the last thing you want is for your personal injury case to drag on for years. The prospect of it taking years is why some individuals will opt for a settlement right out of the gate that isn’t enough to cover all of their expenses. While this is an option that some take, despite it resulting in less money, others are willing to put in more time to get the money they need to pay as much as possible.
In all reality, how long your personal injury lawsuit takes depends on how much time you are willing to wait. As a general rule, you have the option of settling your case quickly if you are willing to be compensated with less. The real question, however, is how much money you are willing to give up for a quick settlement.
At Brotherly Law, we have seen personal injury cases take a while and others haven’t taken long at all. The personal injury lawsuit timeline can vary from person-to-person. If the lawsuit is taking a while, here are some reasons why:
When there are factual or legal issues with the case, the problems may involve who was at fault and exactly how bad the plaintiff was injured. If liability is difficult to prove, the insurer may not make a meaningful settlement offer until the case goes to trial and liability experts are hired to show beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was at fault.
If there are legal issues, such as the insurance company thinking you have no right to sue, then it is unlikely a settlement will be offered until a judge rules on the right to sue. Another issue can be problems with the exact damages. Perhaps the treating doctors didn’t know that the injuries were caused by someone else’s negligence. It is always the plaintiff’s burden to prove the defendant was negligent.
When big money is involved, the insurer may take a long time to offer a settlement because they want to investigate every aspect of the accident and the damages involved. An insurer usually doesn’t settle until they know they don’t have a good defense, that the plaintiff’s injuries are as severe as they claim, and that they can’t attack the credibility of the plaintiff.
The last item, which is not reaching maximum medical improvement, is a legitimate reason for why insurance companies don’t offer settlements right away. This is because reaching the maximum medical improvement allows everyone to adequately value the damages. However, it is still possible to calculate future treatments when a long-term treatment plan is in place.
If you absolutely cannot wait for time to be put into a settlement or for the case to have to go to trial, which can take years due to having to wait for a trial date, trial dates being postponed, and the appeals process, a short settlement is an option. There are some rules about short settlements, however.
It is possible that the insurer may offer up to 35% of what may be offered at trial, but there are some cases where they may offer no more than 10% of what could be offered at trial. It is very important that you speak to your personal injury attorney about short settlements before deciding upon one, especially when dealing with significant injuries and other damages that are very costly.
If you opt to not take a short settlement, the typical steps in the timeline include providing your attorney with information, a settlement attempt will be made, litigation, investigation and discovery, and then trial. Many cases don’t make it to the trial phase because a settlement can be reached.
While there are settlements that can happen rather quickly, some can take time. If your case goes to trial, it is going to take longer. However, juries do tend to be quite generous with the awards, giving accident victims more than enough to ensure their expenses after the accident are paid for. There are many factors that go into the timeline, but the attorneys at Brotherly Law provide the necessary guidance and representation to make it from start to finish. To learn more about how we can help you, call us at (215) 545-8500 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.
If you have been injured due to no fault of your own, you may be able to hold the responsible party accountable for the monetary damages resulting from the accident. Fill out the form below to request a free consultation so we can evaluate your case.