How Long Does it Take to Settle a Personal Injury Case?
August 9, 2011
How long will it take to settle my personal injury claim? This is one of
the most common questions asked by our client’s when they are involved
in an auto accident. At Henningsen Injury Attorneys, P.C., we move efficiently
to make sure that each case is resolved as quickly as possible. While
each Atlanta injury case is different, here are some factors that go into
determining when your case will resolve. First and foremost, what is the
nature and extent of the injuries that you sustained? Remember that when
you settle your injury claim, the claim is over and done with forever.
There is no going back and trying to obtain more money. Thus, a good Atlanta
personal injury attorney will make sure that you have made a complete
medical recovery from your injuries or that you have reached maximum medical
improvement before beginning any negotiations with the insurance company.
Thus if your medical treatment lasts months and months, it is more than
likely that your personal injury claim will last months and months.
However once the treatment is finished, it typically takes a couple of
weeks to gather all of the supporting documentation, such as medical records,
medical bills, lost wage documentation, etc.
At that point, your Georgia injury lawyer will send the insurance company
a “demand” package which will make an offer to settle the claim
for some stated sum of money. Your lawyer should put a time limit on this demand
requiring
the insurance company to respond within some stated time period, usually
around 15-30 days. Once a response is received, then the real negotiations
begin and typically if a claim is going to resolve it will resolve within
the first couple of weeks of the initial offer from the insurance company.
All of this assumes that case process is running smoothly.
In some situations, it may take longer to get supporting
documentation
or the insurance company may need more time to evaluate your claim. In
a typical moderate injury claim an efficient lawyer can have your claim
resolved in months rather than years. The more serious the injury and
the longer the medical treatment, the longer it will typically take for
a case to resolve. In addition to your treatment time, there may be other
factors such as liability, insurance coverage disputes, or any other variety
of factors that may delay the settlement of your claim.
At Henningsen Injury Attorneys, P.C., we know that time is money and we
move efficiently to make sure that you are compensated in a timely manner,
if you or anyone you know has been injured through the negligence of someone
else, please do not hesitate to
