Good things come to those that wait. I say that having zero incentive to draw out a personal injury case. All the cases I work on involve contingency. That means I don’t get paid until my clients get paid. The catch here is people want fast settlements. Fast usually involves cheap in my line of work. Absent an exceptional circumstance cases should not resolve until treatment is finished. And the more treatment the more proof I have in showing the extent of injury. It does not make sense to rush your therapy. It also doesn’t make sense to go to the doctor unnecessarily. This post discusses how long it normally takes to resolve a case.
Beware Of The Pop Out Adjuster
Insurance companies have specialized adjusters that reach out to you right after a crash and try to get you to agree to a peanuts settlement. The practice should be outlawed but the insurance industry is powerful. Basically, the adjuster pretends to be your friend and then screws you by having you agree to a lowball settlement. To properly evaluate a case, absent an exceptional circumstance, treatment needs to occur. Agreeing to a settlement with a pop out adjuster before that occurs is a big mistake.
Timeframe Depends On Treatment
Some people are fixed or better in a few weeks. Others take years to recover. If your case involves not a lot of treatment it probably will take a few months to resolve (and is likely worth less). If your therapy is for a longer timeframe a lawyer would be unintelligent to resolve it before the treatment is finished. We use the bills and records as ammunition in arguing with insurance and potentially a jury later down the line. Here is a link to an article I wrote on treatment: https://louisville-injury-lawyer.com/what-kind-of-doctor-do-i-need-after-a-louisville-car-crash/
Treatment Finished
When your treatment is finished the lawyer makes a records request. Pre-Covid this used to be 30 days. Post Covid its being more like 60 days to get the records. Once the lawyer has the records they evaluate and write a demand. If you have a lot of records this takes time. A demand takes a few days to write and they we give the insurance company 30 days to respond.
Demand Responses
Traditionally I give insurance companies thirty days to respond. Some insurance companies have it together and respond in a timely manner. If there are numerous priors mentioned in your records they might request them. Some cases I’ll provide these and others I’ll just file a lawsuit. Lawsuits take years so it is not something to be take lightly. Usually we get an initial offer and then continue to negotiate the claim. If the other side puts a reasonable number it might make sense to resolve. Other cases the insurance company undervalues the case and a lawsuit is necessary. The client always makes the decision on whether or not to file suit. My job is to argue and advise.
If Settlement Is Reached
Lucky you, a settlement is agreed upon. Now the insurance company will send a check and release. This can take up to 30 days but is usually sooner. There also might be some fighting over the terms of the release that the lawyer and carrier need to sort out.
Uncommon Issues
If there are multiple people involved in your crash and one person is missing from the party it will slow up the resolution of your case. In this scenario the insurance company is ill advised to leave one claim hanging out there. It causes bigger issues for them so they may state no payments until all the injured persons are at the table. Another uncommon issue involves multiple people having one pot of money to pursue. It takes some time to fairly divide. It also helps if a police report is filed ASAP after the incident. Here is a link to file one on a car crash: https://louisville-police.org/498/Online-Incident-Reporting
Lawsuit
Sometimes a lawsuit is necessary to get the other side to fairly resolve a claim. Lawsuits can take 2 weeks or 4 years. That is another post all together. The important part here is I don’t file lawsuits for my health or increased fees. It takes significant time to litigate and try a case. However, if your lawyer isn’t filing lawsuits and trying cases they lack the appropriate bargaining power to hold the other sides feet to the fire. Lots of lawyers don’t litigate and settle cases for WAY less than what they are worth. Some lawyers are incentivized financially not to look at the big picture. The big picture is settling for cheap sets a bad standard. But some lawyers are only at their firm for a short period of time so they don’t care. You need a lawyer that litigates.
In sum, some simple cases with easy liability issues take six months. Other more complicated cases can take years. Make sure you get full value on your case and not some joke lawyer that is just trying to move you along. Consultations are always free at Dettman Law. Email me at bdettmanlawgroup.com or call 502-779-9998 and ask for Brian. I’m here to help.
