If you have filed a claim for personal injury, you may be feeling anxious about the length of the process. Quite often, clients come in and ask, “How long is this going to take?” Until we know more about their specific cases, that is a very tough question to answer. Law firms that claim that they can resolve a case in 18 months don’t do clients any service because, first of all, a lot of the correct answer depends on how their medical treatment is progressing. Length of personal injury cases will vary.
It is preferable not to settle any claim until it is certain that a client has reached a near-end point of their medical issues. That’s important. For example, what happens there is a settlement early on – perhaps it’s a neck complaint – and then, later down the road, they need neck surgery? At that point, the value of that client’s case increases dramatically – but it has already been settled. As lawyers, we need to be patient, and we tell our clients that all the time.
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The other primary cause of delays in these cases can be the insurance company and their lawyers. They like to delay things. It’s important to understand that some insurance defense lawyers are on the clock, and they are paid by the hour. It’s unclear if that’s always a motivating factor, but it certainly could be. A lot of things are going on at once and, sometimes, court congestion can be a big problem. We try to get our cases scheduled for trial as quickly as we can, but some of the judges’ schedules are backed up as much as a year or two, so it’s not always easy to get an immediate trial date.
In those situations, we sometimes try to pursue other avenues such as mediation or arbitration in an attempt to resolve cases. That’s why, to give a blanket answer about how long a given case is going to take is simply impossible. I will tell you that we’re going to move it as quickly as we can, and we will do so based on all of the circumstances that are presented for your specific case – not everybody else’s.
If have been a victim of personal injury, contact our Hamburg Personal Injury Lawyers. We specialize in personal injury and will be dedicated to your case.