How Long Will It Take To Obtain Compensation For My Personal Injury Claim?
At Payer Law, we are very knowledgeable in handling a diverse range of personal injury claims. Whether your case is simple or complex makes no difference. We start by speaking to you during a consultation. We need to know all of the details of your case before we can proceed. During this session, we get a lot of questions regarding the filing a personal injury claim. One of the most common inquiries is regarding the length of the case. There is no simple answer to this question as each case is different. However, we can give a rough estimate with a personal injury lawyer of time based on a few factors. All cases go through the same progression. The timing between each step will vary, but we can provide a general estimate.
Step 1: Injuries Have Healed
Dealing with the court system can bring about all sorts of twists and turns that you never expected. The first thing we look at is the maturity of your injuries. We cannot file a claim until you are generally better. The reason for this is we need to give the court a total cost package. Most people are better within six months; however, it depends on the severity of the injuries. If your injuries have healed as much as they are going to, then we will us an MMI to gauge your compensation. Once you reach the maximum medical improvement, we can successfully take the next step.
Step 2: Gathering Documentation
The second thing that happens in a personal injury case is we need to gather the documentation of your loss. We must have proper documentation to proceed. During this phase, we gather all the bills from doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers. We look at the medical records before the injury, and we compare them with your overall health after the injury. It can take a couple months to get all this documentation together. Once all documents are in hand, we submit this packet to the insurance company for payment. We try to negotiate a settlement. Once the packet is in the insurance company’s hands, then you are at the end of this phase.
Step 3: Resolving Any Issues With The Claim
As a personal injury lawyer, we see plenty of issues with claims. These issues can delay the case. The insurance company may raise the question of liability. They may want to blame you when it was their driver who holds the blame. Also, they may look to the investigating officer or witness at the scene for help. They may also question the doctor about the injuries. Small things, like not filling or taking prescribed medications as you should, can be a red flag. The insurance company will try to fight and say that you are not hurt too badly or you would take the medicine. All these factors can cause a case to stall.
Step 4: Overcoming The Insurance Company’s Stall Tactics
Insurance companies do not like to pay. They are not eager to settle your claim and be done with the matter. They often drag out negotiations and use various stall tactics. The delays can wear you down, and they attempt to offer “low ball” deals just so you will end the process. This is all part of their strategy. They may request new information time and time again. The point is to drive you to the point of madness. An insurance negotiator is trained to use the strategy of attrition. However, Payer Law knows all the games they play, and we have your back.
Step 5: Resolving Liens
Lastly, once we have received an acceptable settlement offer from the insurance company, we must settle any liens against the case. These liens are placed on the compensation package and must be paid first. For instance, if Medicare or Medicaid paid medical bills on your behalf, they may put a lien on the settlement to be reinvested. After all the bills are paid, we will issue a check to you for the balance, minus our fees.
As a personal injury lawyer, we know how difficult it can be when there is no money coming in and you are injured. However, we do our best to get you through the preceding five stages quickly. We are always at the mercy of the insurance company and the court system, should we have to take matters that far. If you need help with a personal injury matter, call Payer Law for assistance.
