I know waiting is the hardest part. You're dealing with pain, you're missing work, the bills are coming in, and all you want is for this to be over so you can move on with your life. I get it. But after close to 30 years of handling personal injury cases in Illinois, I can tell you that the clients who end up with the best results are the ones who understand the process and trust the timeline. So let me walk you through exactly what's happening at each stage so you know your case isn't just sitting on a shelf.
Stage one is medical treatment. This is the longest phase and the one you have the most control over. From the moment you hire us, we're monitoring your treatment, making sure your doctors are documenting everything properly, and tracking your medical bills and records. During this phase, our job is to let you focus on healing while we handle the insurance company. The length of this phase depends entirely on your injuries. A whiplash case with six weeks of physical therapy is very different from a herniated disc case that requires injections and then surgery. We cannot and will not start settlement negotiations until you're done treating or your doctor has declared you at maximum medical improvement.
Stage two is building the demand package. Once you're at MMI, we gather all of your medical records, medical bills, proof of lost wages, and any other documentation of your damages. We compile everything into a comprehensive settlement demand letter that tells the story of your accident, your injuries, your treatment, and the impact on your life. This demand letter is a critical document — it's the insurance company's first detailed look at your case, and it sets the tone for the entire negotiation. A thorough demand package takes two to four weeks to prepare, and cutting corners here costs you money later.
Stage three is negotiation. We send the demand to the insurance company, and then we wait for their response. Most insurance companies take two to six weeks to review a demand and respond with an initial offer. That first offer is almost always insultingly low — it's a starting point, not a real number. From there, we go back and forth in a negotiation that typically involves three to five rounds of offers and counteroffers over the course of one to three months. During this phase, your attorney's experience and reputation matter enormously. If the insurance company knows your lawyer will take the case to trial, they offer more. If they think your lawyer will cave, they offer less.
Stage four — and this only happens if negotiations fail — is litigation. Filing a lawsuit doesn't mean you're going to trial. It means the insurance company wasn't reasonable during negotiations and we need to apply additional pressure. Once a lawsuit is filed, the case enters the discovery phase — written questions, document exchanges, and depositions — which typically takes six to twelve months. Many cases settle during discovery or at a mediation session that's scheduled as part of the litigation process. Only a small percentage of cases actually go all the way to trial.
Stage five is resolution. Whether your case settles or goes to verdict, once a number is agreed upon or awarded, there's a short administrative period. For a settlement, we finalize the release documents and the insurance company issues a check, usually within two to four weeks. For a workers' comp settlement, the agreement goes to the IWCC for approval, which takes two to four weeks. We then pay off any medical liens, deduct our fee, and send you the remaining balance.
Here's the summary timeline for a typical case. A moderate injury case with clear liability: 12 to 18 months total. A serious injury case requiring surgery: 18 to 30 months. A case that goes into litigation: 24 to 36 months. A case that goes all the way to trial: 30 to 48 months.
Is waiting frustrating? Absolutely. But every week of waiting is a week of building a stronger case and getting you closer to a fair result. If you want an honest assessment of where your case stands and how long it's likely to take, call us at 312-500-4500.
As a general rule, if your case is on a settlement track, it's going to resolve faster. If it is on a litigation and fighting track, you're probably going to be in for a one to three year wait before you get to trial. Then those kinds of cases tend to settle at trial or immediately before trial. You got to plan for anywhere between one to three years.
Now what if your case is on a settlement track? there are some lawyers who don't try to settle their cases, they just file lawsuits. File lawsuits on everything the minute the case comes in the door, even if they have a two-year deadline and even if it's a case that should settle and even if it's a case that the lawyer and everybody's going to save money and you're going to get your money faster if there's a settlement attempt. That's why in my office, we do try to settle everything before litigation.
You get your money back, there's less hassle for you. You don't have to come down to answer discovery, you don't have to come downtown to go to court you don't have to come downtown to attend an arbitration or a trial, you don't have to come downtown for a deposition. Much easier if we try to settle your case and you get your cash much faster.
So, in my office right now, cases tend to settle like within 8 to 14 months of me getting involved in the case. I can tell you, that's an excellent number. It's faster than any law firm that I've ever worked at or been affiliated with. It's because, over the last several years, I've really sat down and focused on how to make everything as fast as possible and as efficient as possible while also keeping case costs down.
The Reader's Digest is, if your case is going to settle once your medical treatment is done, the lawyer is going to need at least 60 to 90 days to get your medical records. Another 30 days to get a demand letter done and then another 30 to 60 days to find out whether the insurance company is going to settle. So realistically you have to give a lawyer three to six months after you're done treating before they can even try to settle your case.
But then once it's in litigation, the defense lawyers work by the hour so they want to build a bunch of hours on your case that's in their office. So the odds of the case settling right after a suit being filed are usually not that great. I mean if you file it, and the insurance company calls you then you can settle it. But once they assign it to a law firm that works by the hour, that law firm has a target goal of ten or twenty thousand dollars or more per file in their office.
Case costs are the amount of money the lawyer has to advance in your case to put it together. And either settle it or take it to trial, case costs are usually pretty reasonable before a lawsuit. But in cases I've taken over from other lawyers, these guys, some of them spend thousands of dollars before you even get to court, which in my office sometimes the case costs are under a hundred dollars.
Usually, they're in the two to three hundred dollar range if I can settle the case. Considering how expensive medical records are to get and how expensive everything is these days, turning cases around that quickly and for that little money is usually pretty awesome. I'm happy with it. It's much faster than what I'm used to working in other places or faster than what other law firms do.
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It depends on the case type and complexity. Car accident cases with soft tissue injuries and clear liability can settle in three to twelve months. Cases involving surgery, disputed liability, or significant permanent injury typically take one to three years. Medical malpractice and catastrophic injury cases can take three to five years. Workers comp cases average one to three years. The single most important variable is reaching maximum medical improvement - I don't recommend settling before then regardless of how long it takes.
Settling means both sides agree on a compensation amount and the case ends without a court decision. Trials are decided by a judge or jury. Over 95% of personal injury cases settle before trial. Settlements happen faster and with more certainty than trials. I prepare every case as if it will go to trial - that preparation is what produces good settlements, because insurance companies know I won't fold when a case doesn't settle quickly. The goal is always the fastest fair result.
To a degree. Getting all your medical records organized, completing treatment and reaching MMI, being responsive to your attorney's requests, and having clear documentation of your damages all help move cases forward. What you should not do is settle before you're medically stable just to end the process - that almost always leaves money on the table on future medical needs and permanent disability compensation. Patience at the right stage of the case pays off significantly.
We file a lawsuit. Most cases settle during litigation - often after depositions, when the insurer sees the evidence fully developed. If not, we go to trial or arbitration. I am genuinely prepared to try cases and insurance companies know it. That trial readiness - backed by my training at Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College and the Keenan Trial Institute - produces better settlements because the insurer knows the alternative to settling is a jury. Call 312-500-4500.
Because settling before MMI almost always leaves money on the table. Maximum medical improvement is the point at which your treating physician determines you have recovered as much as you reasonably will, or your condition has plateaued. Until you reach MMI, no one - not your doctor, not your lawyer, not the insurance company - actually knows the full extent of your injuries, the cost of any future medical care, or the permanence of any restrictions. Settling before MMI converts unknowns into the insurance company's favor. Waiting is not the lawyer dragging their feet; it is the lawyer protecting your recovery.
Discovery is the fact-gathering stage that begins after a lawsuit is filed. Both sides exchange written questions (interrogatories), requests for documents, and requests for admissions. Witnesses and parties give sworn deposition testimony. Medical records and expert reports are produced. In an Illinois personal injury case, discovery typically takes six to twelve months, sometimes longer in complex cases. Many cases settle during discovery once the evidence is fully developed and both sides see clearly what a jury would hear. Discovery is also when defense attorneys' billable-hour incentives meet the realities of the case, which often shifts the negotiation posture.
Once both sides agree on the amount, the insurance company sends release documents that you sign and we return. The check is typically issued within two to four weeks of the signed release. Workers' compensation settlements require Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission approval, which adds another two to four weeks. Before any money is paid to you, we resolve medical liens (health insurance subrogation, Medicare/Medicaid liens, hospital liens) and deduct the attorney fee. The remaining balance is then disbursed to you. The whole post-settlement process usually takes four to eight weeks from agreement to check in hand.
Most Illinois personal injury claims have a two-year statute of limitations under 735 ILCS 5/13-202 - meaning a lawsuit has to be filed within two years of the date of injury. Medical malpractice has its own four-year statute of repose. Claims against governmental entities or transit authorities have shorter notice deadlines under the Illinois Tort Immunity Act, sometimes as short as one year. Workers' compensation claims have a three-year filing deadline at the IWCC. The statute of limitations puts an absolute outer limit on case timing - if a fair settlement cannot be reached before the deadline, the lawsuit has to be filed to preserve the claim. Call early so the strategy can be set with all deadlines in view.
If you or a loved one is dealing with a situation like this, give us a call any time, day or night. We are here to help. 312-500-4500
Scott DeSalvo founded DeSalvo Law to help injured people throughout Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1998, IARDC #6244452, Scott has represented over 3,000 clients in personal injury, workers compensation, and accident cases.
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