If you are like many of our clients, your first question may be about how long it could take us to settle your car accident claim. Our experienced San Diego car accident lawyer at The Law Offices of Mark C. Blane, APC, understands why you are anxious to get the compensation you deserve for your injuries when you have expensive medical bills and no income to pay them while you’re off work recovering from your injuries. Here is what you need to know about how long settlements often take so you know what to expect.
Factors That Affect How Long It May Take to Resolve Your Car Accident Claim With the At-Fault Driver's Insurance Company
Every auto collision claim is unique, and no attorney can tell you exactly when your case will be settled. However, certain factors can make your claim resolve more quickly or drag it on for a year or more. Understanding these factors can give you a sense of when you can expect to learn whether you’ll receive compensation – and how much. Here are common factors affecting how long your case may take.
-
The Severity of Your Injuries
Your injuries' severity can impact the timeline for settling your claim, because you should not agree to a settlement before reaching your maximum medical improvement (MMI). You reach this stage in your medical treatment when you fully recover or have recovered as much as your doctor believes you will. At this point, your doctor can also better anticipate your future medical needs.
Why is this so important? Our attorney cannot calculate your future damages until you reach your MMI. If you suffered a spinal injury, internal organ damage, a traumatic brain injury, or other serious injury, you may not reach your MMI for a year or more.
-
Disputes With the Insurance Company
If the negligent driver's insurance company denies your claim or raises disputes to drag out the process, this could make settlement take significantly longer. Unfortunately, the insurance adjuster could use these delay tactics even if you were not at fault for causing your auto crash. They are more likely to raise disputes if your injuries are severe and the value of your claim is high.
Depending on the insurance company's arguments, our lawyer may need to collect additional evidence and retain expert witnesses to fight their claims. For example, if the insurance adjuster claims you caused the car accident, we may need an accident reconstruction expert to recreate the collision.
-
Insurance Coverage
Our legal team can settle your claim quicker if the at-fault motorist has sufficient insurance coverage to compensate you fully. If not, we may need to pursue an underinsured motorist claim with your own insurance company, which could make the settlement process take longer.
-
Litigation
Our lawyer will file a lawsuit if the two-year statute of limitations under the California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 expires soon or the insurance company is dragging its heels on offering you a fair settlement. If we must litigate your claim, it will take us longer to resolve it, though it is still possible to settle it before it goes to trial.
-
Your Attorney
The car accident lawyer you hire can impact how long it will take to settle your case. Attorney Mark Blane will work hard to obtain the evidence you need to convince the insurance company of their insured’s liability. From his decades of experience helping auto collision victims, he has strategies to defeat the insurance company's unfair tactics. He also has a track record of successfully settling and obtaining jury verdicts at trial. This will help him settle your case quickly without sacrificing your right to compensation for your injuries.
