If your injuries don’t take long to treat, your lawyer can begin settlement negotiations sooner. Generally, you aren’t finished with medical treatment until you have made the most complete physical recovery you’re going to make. Your attorney will need to wait until you are finished with your medical treatment to take certain actions, like sending a demand letter to the insurance company. Without this information, your lawyer can’t even begin negotiating a payout amount. Aspects like medical expenses, pain and suffering, and the permanent effects on your life are all part of your damages. This includes your physical injuries, but also encompasses other losses, as well. To make sure you’re getting the money you deserve, your attorney doesn’t want to settle your case until it’s clear what your damages are. Your attorney isn’t moving forward because waiting until you are farther along in your recovery is in your best interests. This isn’t out of any lack of knowledge or reluctance to work hard. If you’re still undergoing medical treatment and your case doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, you may be asking yourself, “Why is my lawyer taking so long to settle my case?” In this case, you’re likely right to think that your attorney is intentionally taking longer to resolve your case.
Whether or not your case is going to trial.The factors that might affect the timeline of your case include: The timeline of a personal injury case depends on a lot of factors, some of which might surprise you. There’s no set amount of time that a personal injury case should take. How Long Does a Personal Injury Case Take? But when you’re actually in a personal injury situation, you realize that couldn’t be further from the truth. The popular misconception of “jackpot justice” makes many people think an accident translates to a quick (and high) payout. And, unfortunately, most of them help the defendant more than they help you.Īre you surprised to hear that these deadlines are measured in months and years? Many accident victims are. These deadlines don’t limit how long the case as a whole can go on. However, those limits can be extended in some circumstances. Different parts of the process, like the discovery phase, may also be subject to time limits. In most cases, you have to actually file a lawsuit within two years of the date your accident occurred. For example, if you are suing a government entity in New Jersey, a statute known as the New Jersey Tort Claims Act, or Title 59, requires you to submit formal notice of a claim within just 90 days of the accident. In some instances, you have to notify defendants in writing that you’re pursuing a claim within a certain timeframe.
Personal injury cases take time, but there are, at least, deadlines that affect certain phases of the claim.
Why it may seem that a lawyer is taking a long time to settle your case.
What factors can make your case take longer.
It’s full of obstacles and opportunities for the other side to hold up the process and delay your payout.ĭoes it seem like your personal injury case is dragging on? Or are you just trying to get an idea how long the process will take? Read on for a breakdown of: The personal injury claims process isn’t designed to get you the compensation you deserve quickly and easily. It’s not only your journey to recovery that can seem painfully slow, either. When a serious injury affects you all day, every day, time doesn’t exactly fly. Posted On MaPersonal Injury Why Is My Personal Injury Case Taking So Long? Find out how long your personal injury claim could take – and what you can do to get your money sooner.