How Long Until My Case Settles?

Personal Injury Attorney Serving Los Angeles

You’ve been injured in some kind of accident and you’ve done everything right—you got a personal injury attorney in Los Angeles, collected evidence from the scene of the accident, and you refrained from giving any statements to the insurance company.

Now you’re probably wondering how long it will take to obtain the compensation you need for your medical bills.

The hard truth is that personal injury cases can take several month, even years, to finally settle.

Settle early for less?

Understandably, many people feel pressured to petition their lawyer to settle their case early because of their dire need of compensation. The caveat is that doing so forces the attorney to cut negotiations short and recover less than they would likely have otherwise obtained.

First of all, you should know that many insurance companies will try to get you to settle your claim within the first weeks of the accident for much less than you probably deserve in an effort to convince you that you don’t need to press your case any further.

You should reject such offers, especially if you have yet to discuss your case with your attorney. Once you do reject the offer, the pre-trial phase begins which is typically the longest part of a personal injury claim. It is here that many settlements are agreed to, thus ending the claim.

What could be slowing down your case?

Things that can slow down your case include:

• If liability is difficult to establish
• A relatively large sum of damages is at stake
• You have yet to reach your maximum medical improvement; that is, you are unsure how to valuate your damages because you are still healing, and it is unknown whether or not you will make a full recovery

No matter what, the insurance company will likely do all they can to delay paying you compensation for your injuries.

This begs the question of when exactly is it wise to settle your case for (potentially) much less than you could recover

Certain factors should make you consider settling early:

• You simply cannot wait any longer for financial compensation
• Important evidence is missing or being surprised
• You were partly to blame for the accident
• Your attorney believes you have already recovered everything you can
• The other side has the money to wait you out until your own resources are exhausted

In the end, you have some say over how long your personal injury case will take in that you can choose to settle early for less compensation. One factor you need to take into consideration, however, is the California statute of limitations pertaining to injury claims which is generally 2 to 3 years depending on the type of injury.

The point is that accident cases vary in length. However, the more evidence you can provide your attorney related to who may be held liable can go a long way towards building a strong case on your behalf which can put pressure on the defense to settle quickly.

Your First Step: Call a Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney

Speaking with a highly-skilled Los Angeles personal injury attorney quickly can also help you recover what you need in short order. The Law Offices of Jacob Emrani helps injured clients who have been hurt in a wide range of accidents: car accidents, truck accidents, bad falls, etc. We make the difference for our clients who have lost wages from their job and can’t pay their medical bills.

Call our firm as soon as you can—(888) 952-2952