New London, CT, Attorney Answers: How Long Does A Personal Injury Case Take?

Our New London, CT, Attorney Explains the 4 Factors that Can Slow Down Your Personal Injury Settlement

Factor #1: Who Is at Fault?

If there is a dispute about who caused the accident, then a settlement can be slow to arrive. Look at this from the insurance company’s point of view: if their insured party didn’t cause the injury, then why should they pay anything? When such doubt exists, an insurance company may choose to take the extra time to research the events surrounding the accident.

If the insurance company ultimately decides that their client wasn’t at fault, they can then dig their heels into the sand and refuse to settle at all. At this point, your personal injury case will need to be tried in court.

Factor #2: How Long Does It Take to Recover from the Injury?

Sometimes the full extent of your injury may not be immediately apparent. For example, you may need to get through the initial healing period before you and your doctor can tell if you will have long term disability or pain. Dependable New London, CT, personal injury attorneys will recommend that you hold off agreeing to a settlement until your doctor has declared your healing period to be over. By waiting, you can ensure that the settlement you receive will fully cover all your medical expenses, lost wages, and suffering.

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Factor #3: How Much Money Is at Stake?

If your personal injury is significant enough to warrant a very large monetary settlement, then an insurance company may delay offering any settlement until they have fully examined your claim. They will likely hire independent medical specialists to evaluate the extent of your injury, and they may hire additional specialits to confirm who was as fault. All of this can take months to complete, if not longer.

Factor #4: Are You Willing to Accept Less Than You Deserve?

For many personal injury cases, patience can be quite valuable – literally. Many insurance companies will offer an initial “lowball” settlement offer that is far less than you deserve. They do this hoping that you’ll get excited by their offer and take it without thinking things through. Over time, they will slowly raise their settlement offer until they reach the maximum amount they’re willing to pay.

As you go through this process, your lawyer will advise you on whether you should wait for a better offer or not. Ultimately, the choice is yours, but having an experienced New London, CT, personal injury attorney whom you trust can help to make that choice easier.

The information contained in this article does not constitute legal advice and is only for educational purposes. If you need legal representation for a matter relating to this topic, feel free to request a free phone consultation with Attorney Strafaci, our experienced personal injury lawyer in New London, CT. Call 860-281-2511 or click here to speak with Attorney Strafaci today!