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Unanticipated injuries are enough to threaten most people’s financial security. As such, accident victims are usually highly motivated to resolve their claims as quickly as possible.
Although receiving a cash payout while recovering from your injuries would certainly relieve a considerable amount of stress, you should avoid accepting a premature settlement. There’s no way to be sure of the total damages, after all, until you’ve reached a proper medical evaluation and/or maximum medical improvement.
In other words, the severity of your injuries will have a major impact on the duration of the proceedings. That’s not the only influencing factor, however.
When it comes to personal injury claims, there are a number of factors that will ultimately determine how long it might take to reach a resolution. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest factors below:
At the end of the day, more complex cases take more time to resolve. If there are multiple parties to blame for the accident in which you were hurt, for example, you may have to prove liability against all of them. Other scenarios that lend to especially complex cases include those involving:
If you can present strong evidence—the kind that will likely hold up in court—against the opposing party, they should theoretically be inclined to settle. If, on the other hand, there’s room for interpretation, they may challenge one or more aspects of your claim. Naturally, any such disputes will only serve to prolong the proceedings.
If the opposing party is so uncooperative that they refuse to negotiate at all, you may have no choice but to file a formal lawsuit. Should this end up being the route you take, it will inevitably add on a lot more time to the proceedings.
Once you go to trial, you’re essentially at the whim of the court. And if the county happens to have a backlog of cases, it could be some time before you have any scheduled appearances.
Thankfully, you may be able to resolve your case before you actually go to trial. In fact, most plaintiffs and defendants are required to attend mediation prior to appearing in court because there’s a good chance that they’ll arrive at a satisfactory settlement, depending on what evidence comes to light during the discovery stage.
If you were seriously hurt through no fault of your own, contact Hodge & Langley Law Firm to determine how best to proceed. Our strategic team has more than 50 years of experience in the legal field.
We will use all the resources at our disposal to help you prove liability and damages against all responsible parties. Call 864-585-3873 or fill out our Contact Form to schedule a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer.
Submission of information in this contact form does not establish an attorney-client relationship. In order to establish such a relationship with our firm we require a direct meeting with the attorney.
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