Why Your Personal Injury Case Is Taking So Long (And What You Can Do About It)

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If you've recently begun pursuing a personal injury lawsuit, hopefully, your attorney sat down with you at the beginning of it all and explained to you that these things can take time. Depending on your specific settlement request and the details surrounding your lawsuit, you could be looking at months or years until a final settlement is reached. Wondering what the hold-up is with your particular case? Your best bet is to speak with your lawyer, but there are typically a few common reasons that personal injury lawsuits will stall.

Your Case Involves a Large Settlement

The amount of money that you're seeking in your settlement can have a large impact on how long your case takes to resolve. Generally, the more money you're suing for, the longer it's going to take to settle the claim. After all, if you're seeking a small settlement, many insurance companies will find it in their best interest to forego litigation altogether and simply pay what you're asking. For larger sums of money, however, you can bet that they're going to do their due diligence before paying out. Generally, the only way to speed up the process, in this case, is to ask for a smaller settlement.

You're Still Recovering From Injuries

Another common reason for a personal injury case to turn stagnant is if you haven't fully recovered (or recovered as much as you're medically able) from your injuries related to the incident. Your lawyer won't want to settle the case until you've reached your maximum recovery because, if other developments arise with your health, the value of your case and subsequent settlement may change. Unfortunately, there's not much that you can do to speed up the process, aside from following your doctor's recommendations for a speedy recovery.

The Case is Facing Factual Setbacks

Finally, it's possible that your personal injury case could be stalling due to factual or legal setbacks. Perhaps your lawyer is having a hard time proving the other party's liability, or maybe some paperwork got lost in the shuffle. When situations like this arise, the best thing that you can do is typically defer to your lawyer. If proving liability is a challenge, consider having your lawyer re-visit any witnesses, photos, or documentation from the accident scene. 

Dealing with a drawn-out personal injury case is never fun, but hopefully, the wait will be worth it when all is said and done and you receive your settlement. For more information on personal injury lawsuits, contact an attorney like those at Whiting, Hagg, Hagg, Dorsey & Hagg.


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