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How Long Will a Personal Injury Settlement Take?

| Jul 12, 2018 | Car Accidents, Personal Injury

No two personal injury claims are alike and, therefore, the length of each case will differ. Depending on the nature of the accident that caused your injuries and the severity of them, a case can either resolve quickly or have a lengthy run. Additionally, if you are willing to accept a settlement offer, your personal injury claim can reach a resolution in no time. However, accepting an initial offer is generally an unwise decision, so make sure you hire a personal injury attorney as soon as possible to evaluate your options
and to decide what the best course of action is.

What’s Taking So Long?

Any number of factors can impact the length of a personal injury case, though there are generally three main reasons why a case could potentially drag on:

  • There are factual problems with the case
  • A substantial sum of money is involved
  • You have yet to reach maximum medical improvement

If your case involves any of the above factors, your case can potentially take more time, unless you are prepared to accept a less than fair settlement offer.

Factual Problems

This generally refers to issues involving who was at fault for the accident and how severe the injuries are. If liability cannot be proven or there is an issue with damages, an insurer will be less inclined to propose
a reasonable settlement offer. For example, if your doctor is unsure that your injuries were caused by the negligence of another party, it would be in the best interests of the insurer to hold off on a reasonable settlement offer until you are able to prove that the other party’s negligent actions caused your injuries. Keep in mind that the burden falls upon you to prove both of these elements and, without them, you might not have a right to sue.

Large Damages

Any time a personal injury case involves a substantial amount of money, you can expect it to take some time to reach a resolution. Insurers will not pay a big settlement until they have explored and investigated absolutely every aspect of a personal injury claim. If your case involves large damages, do not expect an insurer to propose an offer that is remotely reasonable until:

  • They do not have a solid defense to the case
  • They believe your injuries are as severe as you say they are
  • They are unable to attack your credibility

Oftentimes, insurers will also delay a settlement on a big case with the hope that the injured person will ultimately give up and accept less money. Individuals who are badly hurt sometimes believe they cannot wait for a personal injury case to run its course, given all the medical bills they are facing. Insurers are aware of this and choose to take advantage of this vulnerability by simply waiting it out until the injured person can no longer afford to be patient.

Maximum Medical Improvement

A more legitimate reason why a personal injury case might take some time is that the injured person has yet to reach maximum medical improvement. For example, if you have yet to reach a point in your recovery where your prognosis clear, it is best to hold off on settling your case. The fact is that without knowing for sure if you will be able to fully recover from your injuries, you cannot accurately assess the value of your claim.

Personal Injury Attorneys in Oneonta

Suffering an injury due to someone else’s negligence can be difficult to cope with and place a serious financial hardship on you. Do not pay for someone else’s mistakes. Instead, contact the skilled personal
injury attorneys at Scarzafava, Basdekis & Dadey, PLLC in Oneonta. Backed by decades of collective legal experience, you can be confident in our ability and commitment to serve you and secure fair and just compensation on your behalf.

Get started on your case today and contact us at (607) 228-8404 to schedule a free initial case evaluation.

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