HOW FAST CAN I GET MY CAR ACCIDENT INJURY CASE SETTLED
What does it take to settle my case fairly and fast
Every car accident injury case is different. And depending on the circumstances of your case, it might settle very quickly. Or, it could take more than two years.
The most important variables that affect how quickly your case will settle for full and fair value are:
Collectability
Insurance Policy Limits
If the insurance policy limits are low, the insurance company would be wise to pay them quickly.
If the insurance policy limits are huge, the insurance company has no risk of delaying, and the only way to get the money is to force them with a law suit.
By now after reading my The Car Accident Injuries Ultimate Guide, you can understand how these variables affect the way your car accident case will be handled.
Personal injury cases are not a one size fits all type of law. Your case has unique facts and circumstances that are important for us to know.
Keep reading and learn more about how you can speed up your settlement.
Contents
#34 How Fast Can My Case Be Settled
#34 HOW QUICKLY WILL MY CASE GET SETTLED?
#35 How Long Does It Take To Get To Trial
#35 HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET MY CASE TO TRIAL IN A CAR ACCIDENT INJURY CASE?
#36 Complications That Slow Your Settlement Down
#36 THINGS THAT COMPLICATE YOUR CASE AND SLOW IT DOWN
#34 HOW QUICKLY WILL MY CASE GET SETTLED?
Can MattLaw™ Settle My Case Faster
What should I expect as far as how long my case will take?
What does the timeline of a car crash case look like?
If you hire MattLaw™, here is what you can expect as far as how long your case will take to resolve.
The timeline we generally follow at MattLaw™ in most car accident personal injury cases:
On the first day we will attempt to obtain your crash report.
Once we obtain your crash report we send you a copy.
We attempt to photograph any evidence,
take any statements that we can to preserve the liability and damages aspects of your case.
In the first week we help you get to the right kind of specialist doctors to treat your injuries.
We try to help guide the insurance companies to resolve your property damages.
For instance, getting your car out of a tow yard to stop storage fees.
We want to also photograph your damaged car.
We work with the insurance companies to provide you with a rental car if necessary.
In the first 35 days we find out the insurance policy limits, and then tell you in writing what the potential insurance limits are.
If it is a race for the policy limits to recover money from the car crash:
If there are multiple people injured in the same car crash, we will have a serious discussion with you about why it might be in your best interest to allow us to file suit for you quickly, rather than waiting.
Because if we wait, the insurance money may be paid to other injured people before you and when you wait, you may not recover any money if the insurance company paid others ahead of you.
Sadly, in some cases it may be a race for the money.
What if the insurance policy limits are low in your car crash case:
If and when the at fault insurance limits are low, we may suggest sending an early settlement letter asking the car insurance company to pay you the policy limits quickly.
Why wait if the fair value of your injuries clearly exceed the available insurance policy limits.
What if the car insurance company makes a low offer to settle my car accident injury case:
If the insurance company chooses to treat your motor vehicle collision case as less than important, or makes low offers, then we may ask you to allow us to file suit right away.
In other words, why wait? If the insurance company is going to treat you unfairly, then let us file suit for your damages and let a jury of 6 people in our community decide the value of your losses, rather than the insurance company setting the value for your car accident claim.
By moving your case quickly, we are better able to protect all of your rights.
The good news about settling a case is it can happen suddenly, and quickly.
Even if a lawsuit is filed, it does not mean your case will go all the way to a jury trial.
Most cases settle well before a trial, or on the courthouse steps the day of your trial.
In many cases, if a settlement is reached, the money is usually paid within 20 days of the agreement to settle. And after your money is in the client trust account, the escrow time can be as little as two weeks, but sometimes, if there are governmental liens, or health insurance subrogation claims, it can take a long time to determine what are the liens that must be paid from the settlement funds.
#35 HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET MY CASE TO TRIAL IN A CAR ACCIDENT INJURY CASE?
#35 How Long Does It Take To Get To Trial
Most cases filed in Florida, will take about 18 months to go from filing suit to conclusion.
In that time, your medical condition will be clear to your doctors.
You will have reached Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) in that time.
So waiting 6 months for your doctors to say you reached MMI may unnecessarily prolong your case and expose you to additional risks that will reduce the value of your case.
#36 THINGS THAT COMPLICATE YOUR CASE AND SLOW IT DOWN
#36 Complications That Slow Your Settlement Down
THINGS THAT COMPLICATE YOUR CASE AND SLOW IT DOWN
There are a few things that can slow down your case, and cause the trial to be moved much farther down the calendar that you like.
For example, having a second car crash complicates your first car accident claim.
Or the defendant might file bankruptcy and this too complicates your case.
Or, a defendant might die, and a probate case needs to be opened to move your case forward.
One of the at fault defendants may have acted recklessly, and we might want to seek punitive damages, and this takes time to amend the pleadings to seek punitive damages.
There may be a court order that one party or another does not agree with that is made by the trial court, and someone takes an appeal of that order.
Or you might miss doctor’s appointments and this also complicates your injury claim.
There are so many variables that can come into play which will either make it harder to obtain a fair recovery, or will reduce the value of your claim.
This is why moving your case forward quickly is so important.
HOW FAST CAN I SETTLE MY CAR ACCIDENT INJURY CASE SUMMARY
The Bottom line is getting your case settled faster is always the best plan of action.
In more than half of the car accident injury cases we handle we can settle quickly, and when I say quickly, we make a settlement offer in the first 45 days of your case. However, if the at fault party’s insurance policy limits are high, and your injuries are less than catastrophic, then we want your doctors to tell us what your injuries are in writing after you reach MMI.
The advantage to making a faster settlement offer is that if the insurance company is not going to play nice, we know what we have to do, and that is file suit and let a jury decide what is full and fair compensation for your car accident injuries.
Also, by moving your case quickly, we avoid a lot of complications such as a second accident, or the death of the at fault party causing a probate case to be opened, or the filing of bankruptcy by someone. There are lots of things that can unnecessarily slow down your case.
If you would like a free consultation to discuss your case, please call me, Matt Powell at 813-222-2222. Let’s talk about your case and see if MattLaw™ can help you.
Sincerely,
Matt Powell, Esq.
Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer
