How Long Does a Personal Injury Case Take?
How long does a personal injury case take? Learn how long your personal injury case will take with help from Georgia’s personal injury attorney.
If you’ve recently been involved in an accident, you’re probably wondering how long your personal injury case will take from start to finish.
While there are some concrete aspects of the timeline, the short answer is: it varies. Some personal injury cases take weeks; some take months, and, in cases involving more serious long-term injuries or complicated legal questions, the conclusion can take years.
However, there are steps you can take to ensure that your lawsuit moves as quickly as possible. Taking these steps right away will also ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
First, you should seek medical treatment from a doctor right away, even if your injuries are minor. This is important for several reasons.
Second, you should have a consultation with an experienced personal injury claim attorney. Hiring a lawyer right away is the best way to make sure that you settle your case quickly, receive the money you deserve, and move on with your life.
Of course, it is vital to have any injury treated right away to protect your personal health. It is also likely that your insurance company will require that you seek medical treatment within a certain time period following your accident to file a claim for your medical bills, lost wages, and other things.
Finally, visiting an emergency room or your personal doctor right away will mean that your medical records regarding the accident are as accurate and complete as possible, which will be important for your insurance company as well as for your personal injury lawyer.
How Long Does it Take to Settle Personal Injury Cases?
Once you have a consultation and hire an attorney, they will begin investigating your case and evaluate any personal injury claims you may have. Your lawyer will request your medical records and get in touch with your insurance company.
It is important to be open and honest with your lawyers throughout the process so that they can resolve the matter in a way that guarantees you maximum compensation.
The next step in the process is for your lawyer to contact the other party. In most cases, a settlement offer can be reached before a lawsuit is even filed. However, certain factors, such as severe injuries or complicated facts, could lengthen the timeline or mean that filing a trial is necessary.
The amount of time that settling takes depends largely on the parties. Some parties want the claim to go away and will settle quickly. Others are willing to go through the process of defending against a lawsuit. In rare cases, your claim could end up going to court for a full trial.
Although most plaintiffs prefer to have their cases resolved as quickly as possible, it is sometimes advantageous to wait for a period of time to fully resolve your case. This is because of a concept known as maximum medical improvement (MMI). MMI refers to an injured person’s condition after receiving complete medical treatment and improving as much as they are expected to improve.
Your attorney may believe that it is appropriate to wait until you have been treated and reached MMI because it will give all parties a better understanding of how much compensation your injuries merit.
If, for example, you have been treated extensively by medical specialists and given time to recover and are still not able to walk, that is an important factor in evaluating how much your claim is worth.
At the Rego Law Firm, our lawyers have the experience you need to ensure that you reach a favorable settlement as quickly and easily as possible. If it is not in your best interest to settle, our injury lawyers are prepared to fight your case all the way through trial.
At every point in the process, we keep your best interests in mind and work with you to receive compensation and move on with your life. We know that money can’t erase what happened, but we are here to ensure that the responsible party is held accountable for causing your injuries.
Factors Influencing the Duration of a Personal Injury Case
Not all personal injury cases take the same time duration because of many contributing factors. Here are some of them.
- Severe and complex injuries often take a longer period for medical treatment and recovery. The prolonged process of a personal injury case, as comprehensive medical records, are essential for calculating appropriate damages.
- If the evidence shows that the other party is at fault, the case might resolve quicker. However, if multiple parties are involved and liabilities are contested, establishing who is at fault can be time-consuming.
- The high amount of damages claimed may lead to more pushback from the liable party or their insurance company, lengthening negotiations or leading to court trials.
- If both parties are willing to settle and negotiate while coming to a mutually agreeable settlement, the case can be resolved relatively quickly.
Working with an experienced personal injury attorney can help you in many ways. He might advise you to wait until you have reached maximum medical improvement before making a demand for a personal injury settlement amount. In many cases, serious injuries take time to be diagnosed, and once they are identified, your medical expenses spike up the amount.
But in most personal injury cases, it is not possible for you to reach maximum medical improvement within the personal injury lawsuit timeline.
How Long Does a Personal Injury Lawsuit Take?
Each state has what is known as a statute of limitations regarding injury claims. This refers to the period of time starting from the date of the accident within which you must file your lawsuit.
Under Georgia law, this period is two years. That means that you have two years from the date of your accident to file a lawsuit. Otherwise, the court will not hear your claim.
By hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer right away, you can rest assured that your claim will be settled or your lawsuit filed well in advance of the two-year limit.
At the Rego Law Firm, we have the knowledge, experience, and compassion to help you, the injured plaintiff, achieve the result you need and deserve. Contact us today for a free consultation, either in person or over the phone.
We are happy to discuss your case and give you an idea of the timeline for reaching a settlement or filing a lawsuit on your behalf. If you’ve been injured, you need a lawyer to have the best possible representation.
There’s Settling Your Personal Injury Case Quickly, and then there’s Getting a Settlement.
If you’ve been injured in an accident, you may be entitled to compensation.
You deserve a settlement that reflects the severity of your injuries and the impact they have had on your life. But settling a personal injury case can be complicated and time-consuming. That’s why we exist–to help people get back on their feet as quickly as possible.
We know how hard it is to deal with insurance companies, so we handle all of that for you. Our team will take care of everything from start to finish—from negotiating with the other side through trial if necessary—so you don’t have to worry about anything but getting better.
And when it comes time for payment, our attorneys are experts at maximizing your recovery by securing the best possible settlement for you in court or out-of-court negotiations. So let us do what we do best while you focus on your medical treatment.
Why is my Personal Injury Case Taking So Long?
Several factors could cause a case to take longer than expected, including but not limited to the complexity of the case, the difficulty in retrieving pertinent information from documents, and minor delays associated with paperwork.
Hiring an Attorney may help you ensure that your case stays on track. An attorney will be able to keep track of deadlines that have been missed so you can ensure that your claim is successful.
Lastly, having an experienced lawyer on your side allows for peace of mind, knowing that someone has been working hard on this aspect of their life while they continue living their daily routine. If you want more information or if you have any concerns, please feel free to contact us.
How Do I File a Personal Injury Claim?
The first step in filing a personal injury claim for an accident is documenting every crash aspect. It would be good to use a camera and take photographs or video, if possible. This will help keep accurate notes about what happened before, during, and after the accident.
Keep any medical records you receive from doctors’ visits as well as prescriptions filled. Whenever you’re filling out paperwork, always ask for copies to keep with your records because you may need these later on down the line when submitting statements of claim or evidence against an opposing party in court proceedings if it comes to that point.
Lastly, get legal counsel as soon as possible following an injury so they are there from start to finish in case anything arises.
Consult a Personal Injury Claim Lawyer
Regardless of the nature of your personal injury claim, you should contact a lawyer who is experienced in the area of injury law immediately after your accident.
Your attorney can provide you with important legal advice, speak to your doctors regarding your treatment, communicate with your insurance company, and attend settlement negotiations either on your behalf or alongside you.
Throughout all of this, your attorney’s goal is to guide you to the best possible settlement. If necessary, your attorney will assist you in filing a lawsuit and taking the other party to court. A good attorney knows how to use the law to ensure that you get the maximum possible compensation for your case.
Because there are so many factors at play, it is difficult to give an average amount of time to settle a personal injury case. Contact Rego Law Firm today for a free injury claim consultation and let our experienced attorneys help you get the compensation you deserve.
