How Long Does it Take to Settle a Personal Injury Case?

Many people have one important question for their attorney after a personal injury has hit home and wreaked havoc on their life: “How long will my claim take to settle?” Unfortunately, every accident and the details surrounding it are different and there is no clear-cut answer when it comes to this. Understanding the full extent of your injuries is one of the best ways to receive a proper answer to this question. A doctor will be keeping an eye on your injuries to determine when they heal and pinpoint permanent health problems that may affect you for the rest of your life. However, to come to this conclusion, they may need weeks, months, or years.

You may find that it is taking longer to settle if there are huge problems in your case or if the case involves extreme amounts of money. For instance, what happens if liability is difficult to prove? What happens if the insurer refuses to come to a reasonable settlement offer? In other cases, the insurer may not want to fork over large amounts of cash if they feel that there is not a good defense to the case or if they suspect that the injuries are not as severe as claimed.

A Tedious Personal Injury Process

Having a good understanding of what happens in the personal injury process can give you a better idea of what to expect in terms of a timeline. For instance, you have to first file the lawsuit and go through the discovery process, which involves a time period for parties to find out all that they can about the other side’s case. Depositions, pre-trial motions, and settlement are all possible options before the trial, which takes time in and of itself. Depending where you live, you could find that it takes up to six months or more to get the court case scheduled.

Because personal injury cases can become extremely complicated, you should always have an attorney on your side to protect your rights throughout this tedious time. Call us today at Maggiano, DiGirolamo & Lizzi for more information on how we can help you.