When you suffer a personal injury and take the responsible party to court, you want everything to be settled as soon as possible. You want to make sure the one who injured you gives you money to cover all the pain, injury, suffering, and loss you’ve had to endure. But while some cases might settle sooner, yours could take a bit longer.
The length of a personal injury case can be affected by a series of factors. So, even if you have all the evidence in the world prepared for the case, things may not go that smoothly and you’ll be forced to deal with this lawsuit for longer.
Why can a personal injury case take longer to settle? Here are some potential reasons:
1. Your Case Involves a High Compensation Amount
Sometimes, a personal injury case may take longer to settle simply because a larger compensation amount is involved. You will have to prove to the insurance company that you have suffered severe injuries, and you are not exaggerating any of the circumstances. You should also prove that their defense is not great and that you are a trustworthy individual whose credibility cannot be damaged.
Insurance companies will avoid paying money on your settlement until they feel like they have to. So, they will look into every little aspect of the case until they find out whether the defendant is liable for the injury and damages.
Besides, when the amount of money involved is huge, insurance companies will try to delay reaching a settlement. This is because they know that someone who suffered a personal injury wants to get the money as soon as possible. So, they will take advantage of this. They will attempt to exploit the victim and convince them to settle for a smaller amount of money much faster.
2. You’ve Suffered Complicated Injuries
Each personal injury case is unique, with each accident leading to different injuries. If you’ve suffered complicated injuries, then it may take longer for the case to reach a favorable conclusion because all injuries must be identified.
First things first, you will have to deal with the injuries by getting medical care. When they are more severe, it will take longer to heal and obtain a medical report from the physician.
Then, if the injuries are very serious, it may be too soon to say for sure how much you need in terms of compensation, especially if you are still getting treatment. Sometimes, you may need to go through surgery, and/or take treatment for a long time until your condition eventually improves. Not to mention that sometimes, you may need a MRI scan or an ultrasound.
Because of this, it might be impossible for your doctor to give you a clear timescale for your treatment and recovery.
3. The Legal System Is Not Always Fast
It’s no secret that the legal system is not perfect, especially after the lack of funding and technological changes that affected it. So, the system has many flaws that may influence all personal injury cases in some way. A lot of staff members have been fired with several local courts getting closed.
For this reason, the legal system has a hard time dealing with any claims within an acceptable timeframe. For this reason, it isn’t unusual for personal injury cases to take longer to settle.
4. Liability Still Has to Be Proven
Personal injury cases can take longer when the person you are accusing of the incident denies their fault. There will be more processes involved to prove who was responsible, and the court must decide whether the defendant is to blame or not – otherwise, the case cannot reach a settlement.
5. You Have a Slow Solicitor
In some cases, solicitors can be very slow, which is another reason why it takes longer for a settlement to be reached. This individual may either be too busy or may simply not be an expert in personal injury cases.
This is why it is very important to find a solicitor who is skilled, and experienced and can help you get the right compensation as quickly as possible.
Each state has its own number of personal injury attorneys, and it shouldn’t be difficult to find one if you browse carefully.
For example, every year, there are around 200,000 car crashes that lead to injuries in California. So, there are plenty of personal injury lawyer options to choose from if you’re ever involved in an automobile accident. You can easily reach out to a personal injury law firm in Salinas or any other area in California.
The Bottom Line
Is your injury case taking too long? In this case, your solicitor may be too slow, liability may still have to be proven, or the insurance company may try to delay the settlement as much as possible. Stay calm and make sure to maintain a clear strategy to win the case.
