The most reasonable thing that a person who suffered an injury due to the other party’s recklessness and negligence should do is pursue an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit. It is a way to get the financial compensation that will cover all your medical and living expenses in case you are prevented from working, alongside the ones for the material possession repair.
Still, there are many regulations and instructions you need to follow to get the outcome you hope for, and the first step includes hiring a personal injury lawyer who will guide you through the often exceptionally complex procedure. Once it is determined that the case is viable, you can file a personal injury complaint which is an official document that contains facts that you can use against the defendant for your benefit.
Now, if this is the first time you are taking legal action, you might think that the process will be significantly sped up if you have a solid and transparent case and situation. Even though this might happen occasionally, in most cases you need to arm yourself with patience and let the things unravel in their well-established way. Of course, to be able to have peace of mind and confidence that you’ll get adequate compensation, you’ll need to be surrounded by a trusted team of attorneys, and this is exactly what we at Medrala Law Firm offers.
You can get in touch with us immediately and get all the clarifications you require or stay with us throughout the text and discover which are realistic expectations when it comes to the time needed for settling a personal injury case.
The Factors That Affect the Timeframe
Each personal injury case is different, and even though there are certain fixed patterns when it comes to the procedure, it is difficult to know from the start how long it will all take. It is noted that it could last from a few weeks to even a few years.
The main factors that determine the course and the longevity of it are things like the severity of your injuries and the sort of medical treatment needed for recovery, but also the type of personal injury case and the willingness of the defendant or insurance company to cooperate and respect your terms on the possible settlement.
The best possible option is when the settlement conditions are agreeable for both parties, but this is only beneficial for you if the amount can cover all your current and future medical expenses alongside lost wages due to your inability to work. Therefore, you need to be advised by both doctors and lawyers whether the sum is right.
Rushing the Process Isn’t Necessarily in Your Best Interest
After the incident, the first thing to decide is whether you will file a claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company or file a lawsuit. In the first case, the claim’s adjuster will ask you to give a statement about the particulars of the accident and obtain as much information as possible to achieve the goal – setting up the lowest sum and hoping to terminate the process in the shortest time. Of course, this works well for the insurance company, but rarely for you. Still, if the negotiations between the attorney and the claim’s adjuster go well, you could end up with a satisfactory amount.
If the parties are unable to settle at this point, then the next step is filing a lawsuit. This procedure takes more time, but the lawsuit settlements are always significantly higher and fairer. Like with the first example, a lawsuit settlement offer is made out-of-court, as most of the defendants will avoid taking the case to trial due to the high expenses. Therefore, it is crucial to have trustworthy and experienced legal advisers who can determine whether the settlement is right or not. You can learn more about this topic from our recent blog, or contact us to get first-hand information from highly qualified individuals.
Don’t Settle with the Insurance Company Until You Are Fully Recovered
The biggest mistake most people make is settling with the insurance company long before they’ve reached maximum recovery. Medical treatment is the essential part of your claim, and it should be fully covered by the at-fault party.
Maybe you need additional surgery or treatment after the first stage of recovery, or you began to experience psychological issues like insomnia or depression due to the incident and there is a need for specialist help or even punitive damages – all this needs to be taken into account.
Based on the prediction of how much medical treatment you need and will possibly need in the future; a certain amount can be calculated. It requires a review of your medical and other records related to the injury, alongside the bills from the providers. This procedure usually takes up to thirty days, while the negotiations could last for weeks. The same amount of time is needed to finalize the details of the settlement before the documentation is signed and considered legitimate.
Depending on the documentation span, maximum recovery parameters, your employment, and lost wages information, alongside all the medical evidence, you can expect the procedure to last for at least a couple of months. After all, the point of taking a personal injury case settlement is to get the highest financial compensation possible, and this often takes time.
Take Your Time and Let Your Personal Injury Case Take It as Well
We live in a faced-paced world where we can finish our tasks both rapidly and effectively, but when it comes to a personal injury settlement, quick decision-making rarely counts as efficient.
Once the initial case is settled, it can’t be renegotiated, so taking the time to review every possible detail of it is of utmost importance. Luckily, you don’t have to be alone in it as our Medrala Law Firm attorneys are always ready to hear you out and commit to your case entirely. We will work tirelessly to reach the settlement you are completely satisfied with and promise to stay with your claim as long as it takes, whether we are talking about a few months or several years.