Timeline of a Personal Injury Case from Filing
Curious how long your personal injury case will take?
We've all heard the promise our settlements will be ready "just around the corner" only to wait well over a year for a cheque to arrive. No one walks you through exactly what happens between filing a case and getting paid.
A detailed timeline allows you to…
See what to expect at each stage of your case
Avoid settling too early
Plan ahead for medical treatment & expenses
Let's dig into EXACTLY how it all works…
What you'll learn:
Why Personal Injury Cases Take So Long
The 7x Stages of a Personal Injury Case
What Can Slow Down Your Case
How To Speed Up The Process
Why Personal Injury Cases Take So Long
Carrying your case from start to finish isn't like shopping at the grocery store. There's a lot more moving parts… doctors, insurance companies, lawyers and sometimes even courts are involved. And they each work on their own timeline.
Case time frames:
The average case takes 11.4 months to settle. But that doesn't count more serious cases which can take 2-3 years. Insurance companies LOVE to stretch cases out because they know injured people need money now.
The good news is…
U.S. DOJ statistics show only 3% to 5% of cases ever make it to court. Nearly every case settles without ever seeing a jury.
Handing your case over to an experienced Escondido personal injury lawyer is by far the biggest influencer on how quickly you'll settle your claim. A reputable personal injury lawyer knows exactly how to move your case forward through local courts and confidently work with insurance companies and medical providers to deliver the best possible outcome.
The 7x Stages of a Personal Injury Case
Every personal injury case is unique. But they all roughly follow the same stages. Here's what to expect from start to payday.
Stage 1: Medical Treatment & Investigation
Your case begins on day one of your accident/injury.
There are two things that happen before any legal paperwork is filed: you receive medical treatment ASAP and your lawyer investigates what happened.
Here's why this stage is crucial:
Your medical records become Exhibit A in your case. If you hesitate to seek medical treatment, an insurance company lawyer will argue your injuries must not have been that bad… or they weren't caused by the accident.
Also, most lawyers won't even consider settling your case until you've reached "Maximum Medical Improvement". That means your doctors can assess your long-term injuries.
Stage 2: Hiring a Lawyer
The sooner you hire a personal injury lawyer, the better.
Wait, What? Why?
Because evidence vanishes quickly. Witnesses lose memory. CCTV recordings get wiped. Insurance companies start lowballing you with settlement offers days after the accident -- hoping you'll take the cash ASAP without knowing what you should really get.
Personal injury victims who hire lawyers end up with OVER 4.4X MORE compensation on average vs those who don't.
Stage 3: Demand Letter & Negotiation
After your medical treatment stabilizes and your lawyer investigates your accident… it's time to send the insurance company a demand letter.
Your demand letter should include:
Details about your injuries & treatment
Information on lost wages
How the injury affected you mentally
An itemized list of everything you're asking for
The letter gets sent off to the insurance company which officially starts negotiations. Expect them to reject your demands and counter-offer much less than you want.
Don't panic! This is expected.
What happens next is a negotiation process that could last weeks or months. Insurance companies will dispute your treatment, debate fault and look for ANYTHING they can use to pay you less. A good personal injury lawyer will see it coming and counter.
Stage 4: Filing the Lawsuit
If things are moving too slow, your lawyer can file a lawsuit.
Don't freak out! Filing doesn't mean you're headed to court tomorrow. It actually helps move things along because now the insurance company has a court date looming over them. But it does add extra steps and place you on the court's calendar.
The lawsuit must be filed before your state's statute of limitations runs out. Every state is different, but if you wait too long you'll lose your right to sue forever.
Stage 5: Discovery
Discovery is when both sides exchange information, documents, and evidence.
Both you and the insurance company will:
Send written questions, also known as interrogatories
Request documents such as medical records and police reports
Take depositions of witnesses, medical providers and anyone else involved
You might have to participate in an independent medical exam requested by the insurance company
Discovery can take anywhere from 6 months to over a year depending on your case. This is often where things are WON or LOST.
Stage 6: Mediation & Settlement Talks
Mediation happens when both sides try to reach a settlement BEFORE trial.
An impartial mediator will meet with you and the insurance company to negotiate a settlement. It has a high success rate because by this point everyone knows how strong (or weak) your case really is.
Approximately 95% of personal injury lawsuits settle BEFORE trial ever happens. Successful mediations can wrap up a case in just a few weeks.
Stage 7: Trial (Hopefully Not…)
Once you've passed all that… It's finally time for trial.
Yay?? Well sort of.
Trials are stressful, costly, and frankly terrifying. To make matters worse, the average case takes 25.6 months from filing to verdict (over TWO YEARS!)
That being said, trials do force insurance companies to pay up. Sometimes the MERE THREAT of going to trial is enough to get fair compensation.
What Can Slow Down Your Case
Many things can drag out your case timeline:
Serious injuries take time to properly heal and wrap-up treatment
If fault is disputed it takes longer to prove your case
Insurance companies that stall to pressure you into settling
Court case backlogs (some states/cities have more cases than others)
Multiple negligent parties lengthens the process
Be aware of these time traps before you get into them.
How To Speed Up The Process
Some things are out of your control. But you can do the following to speed things up:
Receive medical treatment ASAP
Keep great records of everything
Hire a personal injury lawyer ASAP
Stay off Social Media (trust us)
Respond promptly to your lawyer's requests
Final Thoughts
There's no magic number for how long a personal injury case takes. Some take months, others take years.
To recap:
Seek medical attention and start your accident investigation
Hire a personal injury lawyer
Send off the demand letter and negotiate
File a lawsuit if needed
Go through discovery
Participate in mediation
Head to trial (hopefully your lawyer can avoid this)
Again, having the right personal injury lawyer can accelerate your case along. They take care of the leg-work, negotiations and handle court stuff if need be. You can focus on recovering from your injuries.
Don't risk losing your case by representing yourself. Just like you hired professionals to repair your car/home -- hire a lawyer to repair your case.
Related:
