When you get injured, the last thing you want to do is sit around dealing with stressful trials and not knowing when you’re going to get compensated.
You have real bills piling up, you’ve likely missed work and compounded the problem, and of course, stressing out for a long period is never something you want to go through, even without the financial aspects.
Well, the process does have a lot of factors impacting the time between filing your claim and getting paid. So, how long does it take to get a personal injury settlement on average? In today’s post, we’ll cover the key factors that impact that timeframe.
The General Timeframe for a Personal Injury Case
On average, you can expect your case to take about 12 to 14 months. That’s under optimal conditions in a fairly straightforward case when the other side isn’t fighting tooth and nail to keep from paying you.
However, cases are frequently known to take as little as six months, all the way to three years to complete.
That is a very wide range for your case to settle or go to trial, and we understand if it doesn’t put your mind at ease.
As such, we’re going to cover the types of conditions that impact that timeframe to give you a better understanding of what your specific case is likely to look like.
Six to eight months
Six to eight months is very short in the legal field. It’s still a long time if the case is stressful and you have medical bills piling up or issues working because of your injury, but it is close to the best-case scenario.
Cases tend to fall into this range when they are minimally contested, or the event was very straightforward, and the opposing side just can’t make a good argument to drag things out. That’s a key point while you read the rest of this.
Most of the time you’ll spend dealing with your case isn’t because the process is lengthy by default. It’s mostly because the other side is trying to avoid paying you, and it creates a lot of challenges that must be handled carefully.
In some rarer situations, a case might end in a personal injury settlement or a verdict within just a couple of months. That only tends to happen when the other side doesn’t want to contest your claim, and the event is very straightforward. It doesn’t happen often.
12 to 14 Months
Like we said, this is the average. 12 to 14 months is a good amount of time to get a case over with, whether by settlement or verdict, when the other side puts up a decent fight, but it isn’t using any underhanded tactics, and the case itself isn’t overly complicated.
Typically, if you are clearly not fully at fault, and the other side doesn’t have too many arguments, this is what you can expect.
14 Months to 3 Years
The good thing is, most cases will not go to the three-year mark. That’s less common, and it’s for a good reason.
Cases that go on for this long tend to do so for one of two reasons.
First, you started with a very complicated case that’s difficult to make a strong argument for. For example, maybe it’s difficult to prove that an accident wasn’t your fault, because you were doing something that also helped cause the incident, or the injury you’re claiming isn’t easy to verify the extent of.
The other possibility is that, even though you have a strong case, the other side has a very strong legal team and has managed to fight your argument tooth and nail.
In any case, it’s a hard situation to deal with, because costs add up the longer the case goes on.
This is why it’s so important to make the right choices after an injury to minimize the opposition’s leverage, get the case going in time, and ensure you have all the documentation necessary to make a strong argument.
What Happens Throughout the Case’s Timeline?
It’s complicated to provide a specific timeline because every case is different. While there are standard protocols that will mark major milestones in the case, something can come out of left field and completely change the case’s trajectory.
We’ll break it down into the simplest steps.
1. Contacting a Lawyer and Filing the Claim
The case starts as soon as you contact a lawyer and file a claim. You’ll still be pretty far away from entering a courtroom, but that’s when the whole thing starts.
Your lawyer will help you with the technical aspects of filing, gathering evidence, etc.
This is also when the lawyer will start building your case and developing a strategy. How this goes depends entirely on the situation. There’s no cookie-cutter approach to cite.
2. Deciding Between Negotiations and Court
You don’t automatically take things to the courtroom when you file a claim. You have options available to minimize your case’s length and keep things a little less stressful.
Mostly, this is your ability to negotiate a settlement.
This is rarely a good idea to start with. The defense will usually open with this approach if you have a strong case, because it’s an opportunity for them to undercut your compensation.
A lawyer can make this decision for you or help guide you through your options. It’s more likely that you’ll start the case, and as it develops, you’ll take the flow of the case into account while possibly negotiating a settlement out of court to end it.
Read also: What Counts as Personal Injury? 12 Situations to Consult a Personal Injury Lawyer
3. Insurance Claims
Your lawyer will help you deal with the accident insurance companies during this process to get you whatever compensation is possible while you wait for a settlement or verdict.
4. Presenting Your Argument in Court
After both sides have entered evidence into court, hired expert witnesses, and handled other parts of the pre-trial process, you’ll participate in the courtroom. Again, this doesn’t happen if you settle first.
5. Verdict
If you did not negotiate a settlement, after repeated court appearances, the court will finally decide.
The decision is entirely up to the court, and in some cases, that’s why settlements are welcome. Especially if a case is weakening.
Get Compensated as Soon as Possible with DeSalvo Law
Understanding your personal injury case timeline can ease a lot of the uncertainty that follows a serious accident.
While the process can take anywhere from a few months to a few years (depending on the complexity of the case and how much the other side pushes back), knowing the key stages helps you feel more prepared.
At The Law Office of Scott D. DeSalvo, LLC, we’re here to fight for your rights and make the process as painless as possible for everyone involved. We handle a wide range of cases, including car, motorcycle, and truck accidents, as well as construction injuries, slip and falls, and much more.
Contact us today for a free consultation and let us help you get the compensation you deserve!
