Going through personal injury claims can be a really weird experience especially when you have to deal with the aftermath of the injury. So, a very common question that is asked often by the claimants is ‘How long will it take to settle my personal injury case?’
Now, each case is unique and it is not like if one approach worked for one case, it can be used in all of the cases. It is a big no-no. There are some variables that can help you get a hint of how long it will actually take for your case to be resolved.
A personal injury lawyer in Houston can help a lot in explaining to you all the factors that can help in tracking the time it will take to settle your personal injury case.
Factors Affecting the Duration
Now the factor that will be mentioned below can either make the process longer or can squeeze it and make it short. Let’s have a look at the factors that can influence the duration of personal injury cases.
The Seriousness of the Injury
The severity of injury does have a very significant role. If there are minor injuries involved, the chances are that they will be resolved in no time and the case will move really fast towards settlement.
Now, if this is compared to severe and bad injuries, they take a lot more time than the minor ones, and that is why the case also takes a little longer than the minor injury cases. This is majorly due to more extended medical treatments, the further monitoring of the injuries once they heal, and also the rehabilitation process that comes after that.
Liability Issues
Cases are seen to be going smoothly when the fault is very clearly defined. On the other hand, when liability is not clear and is observed to be disputed among several parties, the process is very much likely to be complex.
Now, to deal with the complexities, there are further investigations, expert opinions, and a whole lot of trials involved.
All of these steps when it comes to liabilities can make the case duration longer than you expect.
Size of the Claim
The size of the claim also matters a lot. If the claims are substantially large, these can end up motivating the insurance companies to settle the case as soon as they can to avoid the court fees. Or there can be another story, where the insurance companies can take it as a challenge and can question every single detail of each claim made.
And if we look at the smaller claims, they can be a lesser facial threat to the insurers. This can lead to early settlements. Also, one thing to remember here is that these can be considered of lower priority which can cause a lot of delay.
Willingness to Negotiate
One of the most important factors here is the willingness of the parties involved to negotiate the case. Some parties can agree to settle the case outside the court as they opt for mediation. With that, other parties might go for litigation rather than settling the case outside the court. This for sure takes a lot longer than the former.
Benefits of Early Settlement
Early settlement of the case can come up with some benefits:
- Early settlements when opted can reduce the costs
- Settling for a case earlier can also cause ealy compensation that can help reduce the financial burdens
- Extra court decisions can be avoided when an early settlement is made.
Some of the cons do come with it as well. These can be:
A Lot of people when they settle early can have a lesser amount compared to the one they could have gotten by going into a trial.
Some of the victims go for public acceptance of the wrong that they have done, but in early settlement, they don’t get the chance to do that.
The Rewards of Going to Trials
When you become a part of the trials, there are higher chances that you will be getting more compensation along with the corrective damages. Also one of the rewards that you get when you are there at the trial is that you have a platform to make the mistakes of the defendants more highlighted.
On the other hand, trials can be really energy-consuming and tiring for a lot of people, as they can go on for a very long period of time.
Final Thoughts
So to get the answer to the question of ‘how long will it take to settle my personal injury case’ we all know now that we have to focus on a number of factors. If you say only one thing can explain that, then you are completely wrong.