When you’ve suffered a personal injury, money is a major issue, and you’re probably wondering how long it will take to settle a personal injury case and get paid what you’re due.
Well, we’d love to give you a reasonable range that’s easy to explain, but personal injury laws and regulations can be quite complex, so that’s simply not possible. The truth is it can take between 2 weeks to 3 years to see the case through and agree on a settlement.
That’s a huge range, but there’s a reason for that. Several factors greatly impact how long it takes.
We’re going to go over the most important factors to help you figure out how soon you can get your settlement and rebuild what you lost.
1. Whether or Not You Accept an Offer Yourself
If you suffer a personal injury and the company is obviously at fault, the company is most likely to offer you a settlement very early on. It can happen within a couple of weeks of getting injured and starting the legal process and litigation.
While that sounds great, you have to consider some things.
The company doesn’t feel bad about your injury and wants to quickly help you get back on your feet. It wants to minimize its financial responsibility, and getting you to quickly accept a settlement with a bunch of stipulations attached allows it to do that.
Oftentimes, the first offer is a lot lower than the case is worth, as well. A rushed settlement might seem appealing, but understanding the personal injury case timeline can help you avoid settling for less than you deserve.
You, and most people, likely think $50,000 is a massive, life-changing, amount of money. So, when a big company you’re suing for a personal injury offers it without hesitation, you’re tempted to take it. Except, if you call a lawyer, you’ll almost always find that the case is worth several times more than the offer.
By rushing things to get your settlement as soon as possible, you can cost yourself a lot of money that you’re rightfully owed.
2. Did You Call a Personal Injury Lawyer?
There’s never a good time to try to handle the court on your own, but during a personal injury case, you simply can’t afford to.
Most personal injury cases include companies that are capable of hiring high-quality legal teams. If you don’t hire a professional personal injury attorney to represent you, two things can happen.
First, if you get anything, you likely won’t get nearly what your case is worth, and you’ll find yourself fighting in court longer than you otherwise would. That’s the best-case scenario.
The worst-case scenario is that you don’t get anything. Even if everything points to you being a victim, a good legal team of personal injury lawyers can often nullify your arguments since you’re not experienced in the courtroom.
Whenever you think you have a viable personal injury case, call an attorney immediately. You’ll get through the case faster and avoid being unrightfully denied compensation.
3. The Strength of the Case
The strength of your personal injury case is another thing that can affect how long it takes to get a settlement.
For example, let’s say one person got hurt in an alley behind the company’s building by slipping and falling. There are no cameras or witnesses, and they didn’t go to the doctor. Now, let’s say another slipped on an unmarked wet spot in the middle of a packed grocery store with lots of footage, and they went to the doctor immediately to get checked out.
The person in the first example will have a hard time arguing that their injury is the company’s fault. They’d have to debate the property line and whether the company was responsible for the alley, somehow prove that the injury happened there, and show the extent of the damage immediately after without hospital records.
The second person typically wouldn’t have to wait nearly as long. There’s a strong case with lots of evidence, and the defendant would have a hard time trying to drag out the case or prove innocence.
The issue with this is that the examples usually aren’t that clean-cut. You can have a strong case, but the opposition can have a very experienced team that uses other tactics to get out of liability, or they might be able to leverage something else to try to force you to settle your personal injury case faster, even if it’s not optimal.
However, if you have a strong case, you can reasonably expect it to go faster and produce better results.
Also Read: The Role of Witnesses in Strengthening Personal Injury Cases
4. Your Lawyer’s Negotiation Abilities
Settlements aren’t like court-ordered compensation. They’re mutually agreed upon compensation designed to put a stop to the legal issues with the court’s approval. As such, they require quite a bit of negotiation. This is also why people who accept the first offer usually miss out on lots of compensation.
Negotiations take time. Lawyers specialized in this area of law know from experience how long it usually takes to settle a personal injury case. Relying on them helps move the process along quickly without sacrificing the true value of your claim.
5. Complexity of the Case
If there are a lot of factors that complicate the case, you can expect it to take longer to reach a settlement agreement. Each layer of complexity is another issue your lawyer needs to tackle and work into negotiations, and the other team typically does the same to look for ways to avoid liability. The constant back and forth extends the process dramatically.
If your case is straightforward, the path it will take in court is pretty clear-cut, and if you hire a lawyer, you’ll likely navigate the legal process much smoother and settle much sooner. There’s simply less to debate before reaching a mutually beneficial agreement, and you can arrive at a suitable conclusion sooner.
6. The Value of Your Case
Lower value cases can be expected to reach a settlement faster than extremely high-value cases. Simply put, the defendant is going to put up a much harder fight if there are millions of dollars on the line compared to $10,000 in medical bills for a moderate, yet not life-threatening, injury.
Get The Compensation You Deserve with DeSalvo Law
If you’re starting a personal injury case and want to secure the best settlement without compromising its value, the Law Office of Scott D. DeSalvo is here for you! Our team of dedicated personal injury attorneys is here to fight for you every step of the way.
Whether you’ve been in a car accident, suffered a workplace injury, been hurt in a construction accident, or are dealing with medical malpractice, we’re ready to help you navigate the legal process and get the compensation you deserve.
We understand that the road to recovery is challenging enough without the added stress of legal battles. Let us handle the legal stuff while you focus on healing.
Contact us today for a free consultation!
