How Long Does a Personal Injury Case Take to Settle?

Clients who have recently been in some type of accident usually always have the same first question: “How long will my personal injury case take to settle?” In this article, we will explain why a settlement might take longer in some cases than others and we will walk you through the standard events and timeline of a personal injury claim and lawsuit.

One of the biggest factors in the lifespan of your case is usually the severity of your injuries and the treatment necessary to make you healthy again. Generally, if you have suffered minor injuries, there is a better chance of your case settling within a few months, as opposed to someone with complicated injuries. If you have been through the personal injury settlement process before, you know that the most important part of your claim is the medical treatment you receive. Making sure you get all the treatment you need for your injuries is of utmost importance to getting you back to your normal life. Once you have recovered, your doctor and attorney will have a better idea of how these injuries will affect your life moving forward and how the injuries have affected you since the accident occurred. In some cases, a client may have to be referred to a specialist or surgeon, which can end up costing more money and taking more time.

This is one of the most important reasons not to settle with an insurance company before you have fully treated your injuries. Sometimes your health will dramatically change after the accident, so if you settle prematurely you may not receive all the compensation you need to treat properly. The insurance company will be skilled at convincing injury victims to accept a low settlement offer, and it is their job to try and pay you as little as possible for your claim. It is your lawyer’s job to help you receive the maximum amount of compensation that you deserve, including property damage, past, and future medical expenses, lost wages, and future income.

Is Your Personal Injury Case in Litigation?

When you have a personal injury attorney working on your case, they will advise you on all of your legal options. If the insurance company is not willing to come to an agreeable settlement offer, then your lawyer will be prepared to file a lawsuit to help you receive the compensation that you deserve. The filing of the lawsuit starts the clock running on when the case might get to trial. Every state’s pretrial procedures are different, but generally it will take one to two years for a personal injury case to get to trial. Keep in mind that a lawsuit needs to be filed within the statute of limitations. The initiation of a lawsuit commences the “litigation” phase of your personal injury claim. Now, instead of negotiating your claim directly with an adjuster from the insurance company, there will be Defense counsel appointed to represent the Defendant who will be your attorney’s primary point of contact throughout the process.

There are some cases which take at least a year from the date of filing the complaint to get to settle, and some may take around six months. So, it is quite unpredictable. However, a personal injury lawsuit can take 2 to 3 years to get settled. Once your case is in litigation, you will have to go through the discovery process. Discovery is the procedure in which each party investigates what the adversary’s legal claims and defenses are. They send interrogatories and document requests to each other and take depositions of all of the relevant witnesses in the case. This process can last six months to a year, depending on the court’s deadlines and the complexity of the case. Next, the court may order the parties involved to go to mediation. Mediation is a process in which both clients and both lawyers go in front of a mediator to try to settle the case. (Learn more about Mediation of Personal Injury Claims.

Often mediation works, but, if it doesn’t work, the case is scheduled for trial. A personal injury trial can last a day, a week, or even longer. The length may be increased because, in many states, trials are held for only half a day instead of over a full day. One important thing to know about trials is that just because a lawsuit is scheduled for trial does not mean that the trial will actually occur on that date. Trials often get rescheduled because of the judge’s schedules. If your trial gets cancelled, you should not automatically assume that the lawyers are conspiring against you or that something unfavorable is happening. Trials are delayed all the time, and for the most innocuous of reasons. At the trial, all the information that has been gathered through discovery (physical evidence, interrogatories, depositions, photos, witnesses, etc.) will all be presented to a jury for them to decide on the settlement amount.

Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to know exactly how long your claim will take because every accident and every client’s health is different. Florida personal injury lawsuits may seem straightforward at first glance, but complex issues often arise. Make sure you consult with an experienced personal injury attorney. Attorneys, Jaime Suarez and Andres G. Montero are experienced legal personal injury professionals in Miami who are dedicated to helping accident victims with personal injury cases involving automobile accidents, brain and spinal cord injuries, slip and fall accidents, prescription errors, wrongful death, and accidents at work.