You’ve been through enough after your accident, and when your case is successful, it’s only natural to wonder how long car accident settlements take. Why is my settlement taking so long for my personal injury claim? Car accident settlement delays can and do arise, and they always add more stress for car accident victims. Working with a lawyer will mean you’re not in the dark about the timeline and you’ll have someone fighting for your best interests to put this difficult time behind you.
Azizi Law Firm represents victims in personal injury cases and takes action to make the settlement process as smooth as possible. In this blog post, we discuss car accident lawsuit timeframes and the factors affecting settlement time in personal injury claims.
Common Reasons Why Car Accident Settlements May Take a Long Time
Why is your car accident settlement taking such a long time? Car accident settlements involve a complex set of factors that can make personal injury claims take a while. If you have a car accident case, your personal injury lawyer will likely advise you of the specific factors that may be causing a delay in receiving your settlement.
Car accident settlements can take a few months to a year or even more. It will depend on the complexities along with the legal and factual issues in your personal injury case; however, with a car accident lawyer, you will experience a smoother settlement process.
Here are some reasons why the car accident settlement process can take time to resolve:
The Severity of Your Injuries
When you’re in a motor vehicle accident, your car accident claim will likely involve serious injuries. The more severe your car accident injuries, the longer your car accident settlement will take.
In car accident cases, time is required to fully assess the severity and extent of the victim’s injuries. The injuries may be permanent, and as such, it will be best for you to reach maximum medical improvement which is the point where your condition is unlikely to improve any further.
Reaching maximum medical improvement is essential to calculate the extent of your future medical expenses. You may need extensive medical treatment, and collecting medical bills and medical records from medical providers to show your maximum medical improvement is in your best interests. If you push ahead before all necessary medical treatment is completed, you may wind up taking a lower settlement than you need, forcing you to be stuck with all the medical bills and medical expenses for your future medical care.
Proving Liability in an Auto Accident
Your personal injury attorney has many tasks to handle to get you a fair settlement. Beyond your medical treatment, they must prove to the insurance company that the other driver was at fault.
An experienced personal injury lawyer will know how to satisfy the four elements of negligence required in cases involving car accidents. All four of these elements must be present to recover a car accident settlement from the insurance company.
The first element is the duty of care, which is something that every driver owes all drivers on the road. When you get behind the wheel, you have a duty to drive safely and obey the traffic laws. The second element is a breach of duty, and negligent behaviors such as speeding, drunk driving, or driving while texting are breaches of safe driving behavior.
The third element of negligence is causation, which means that the negligent action of the other driver caused the accident. The fourth and final element is that you suffered damages, such as serious injury and property damage in the accident.
Some car accidents involve several vehicles, meaning there are multiple parties involved in the auto accident. Others are caused by people operating commercial vehicles or company cars, which would bring business entities into the picture, making for a more complex injury claim. This would mean multiple insurance companies are involved, which increases the time to get a fair settlement.
Gathering Evidence
Even if your accident only involved one other party, your personal injury attorney needs to investigate and gather the evidence in your case before the settlement process can begin. Experienced personal injury attorneys know that getting fair compensation requires a thorough investigation with a lot of evidence.
This evidence will include the police report, medical records of your injuries, photos and videos of the accident scene, pay stubs confirming your lost income, and witness statements. To help satisfy your insurance claim, an experienced lawyer will also call in experts prior to settlement negotiations.
Every insurance company and its insurance adjusters will try to make the situation more difficult during accident claims. Your accident settlement and how quickly you can receive it will greatly depend on the proof your car accident lawyer presents in your case.
Negotiations
The negotiation process will often be the reason why an accident settlement takes a long time. The tactics insurance companies use after an auto accident are calculated, often dragging the case out through unnecessary delays so that victims become desperate for any amount of money to make up for lost wages and pay their bills.
While insurance companies delay the proceedings, the accident settlement process may take a while to arrive at a reasonable settlement. Most car accident settlements require sufficient time to review the full extent of the damages, and multiple parties mean that more time will be needed for settlement negotiations.
Waiting on the Settlement Check from the Insurance Company
Even after negotiations have ended successfully, you will still need to wait on the insurance company. You will need to sign a release form to accept the settlement. Then, the insurance company will need to process the forms and send the check.
However, you won’t get the money right away. It will go to your attorney who will place it in an escrow or trust account. Your outstanding bills for medical care, legal fees, and other debts will be paid from this settlement first, and then you will receive your money. While it is frustrating to wait even longer, the wait will be worth it when your attorney has attained fair compensation on your behalf.
How a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help with Your Car Accident Case
Under personal injury law, you don’t need to have a car accident lawyer in Los Angeles to help you with the process. However, if your goal is to get full and fair compensation for the severe injuries you’ve endured, then hiring an experienced personal injury attorney is an essential step in your case.
Here is how they can help:
Free Consultation
Most lawyers will provide the opportunity to sit down with them for a free consultation. This is your chance to learn more about the attorney and your legal options. They will examine the factors of your case and determine if you have a valid claim. If so, they can answer your questions about how much compensation you may get and how long they estimate your case will take.
Investigating and Negotiating
Lawyers in personal injury also conduct investigations and gather evidence. Even if you managed to snap a few photos of the accident scene and follow the steps after a car crash, they have greater resources to dig deeper. This provides more ammunition against the at-fault party, their insurer, and the defense team to strengthen your case.
Beyond having medical evidence of your injuries and a police report, attorneys will hire experts who can provide compelling testimony about your accident. Accident reconstructionists can use their calculations to recreate the circumstances of the crash and show how it occurred while doctors can explain the impact and severity of your injuries.
Representing Your Best Interests
You may not need an attorney to help you in a minor crash with no injuries. However, if the injuries you’ve sustained will have lifelong consequences, you owe it to yourself to hire an attorney who will stand up for your best interests throughout your case.
It may take longer to get your settlement, though, in the end, your lawyer will be fighting for the maximum amount. If you try to negotiate on your own, you may only get a fraction of what you need, which would result in financial struggles.
You should not be stuck paying for all these expenses when someone else’s negligent driving caused your accident and injuries. Instead, they should be held liable for their carelessness and be responsible for paying you the compensation you deserve.
At Azizi Law Firm, we represent victims in auto wrecks and stand by them throughout the process. We know that what you have been through was painful and traumatic, which is why we fight the other side aggressively to ensure you get what is fair.
If you or a loved one have endured injuries in a car crash, contact our law firm today to schedule a free initial consultation. You’ll be able to start your claim and have enough time before the statute of limitations runs out, bringing you closer to your settlement money.
