If you were injured in a road accident, you can file a lawsuit against the other driver. If, the other driver is at fault, you’ll almost certainly file a claim against the other driver for damages. If you’re like most people, you’ve never dealt with a personal injury claim resulting from a car accident. When a car accident causes you harm, you have the right to seek financial compensation from the parties at fault.
With little to no experience dealing with car accident injury lawsuits, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to complete the procedure on your own. The majority of people hire an attorney to assist them with the process. Trying to negotiate with a seasoned insurance adjuster who is well-versed in accident cases and, however, isn’t on your side is a losing proposition. And if you have a claim against your own insurance provider, the adjuster is on the insurance company’s side, not yours.
How long does a settlement take?
New Hampshire car accident lawyers will tell you that there is a very good chance of obtaining a settlement rather than having to go to court to recover damages.
Unfortunately, there is no way to know for sure how long the process will take. Historically, the vast majority of personal injury lawsuits, including car accidents, have been settled out of court, with just 3% of personal injury cases going to trial, according to a federal Bureau of Justice Statistics report. The study also discovered that car accident injury lawsuits settle quicker than other tort cases, with almost half of the cases in the study sample settling in less than 14 months.
A Cornell University Law School professor argued that the payout rate for personal injury lawsuits was unlikely to be higher than 90% in a law review article. However, the study found that the payout rate for personal injury claims could be as high as 87 percent, with other research finding rates as high as 95 percent. As a result, the case is likely to resolve, and it will likely do so sooner than most types of tort litigation.
The time it takes to settle is affected by several factors.
The question you’re probably asking is, “How long it will take”? Since every case is unique, it’s likely a query that can’t be answered without understanding the details of your situation. The majority of cases are straightforward—fault is obvious, insurance coverage is sufficient for the costs, and no one has sustained truly severe or life-altering injuries. Those types of cases can often be settled in less than a year. It is rarely advisable, however, to attempt to settle a case if you have not completed medical treatment, or have not reached what doctors call “maximum medical improvement”.
A traffic accident case can take a long time to resolve due to several complicating factors.
This may involve the following:
The severity of damages.
This covers both physical and emotional injuries, as well as damage to the car. Furthermore, if you sustain injuries that are likely to be life-long, such as brain injury, paralysis, amputation, or other equally serious injuries, the astronomical cost of a potential treatment for such damages would almost certainly slow, or even prevent, a settlement. Negotiations would be drawn out because the other driver’s insurance company—or yours—will want to reduce the sum it needs to payout if you were at fault. If they decide to restrict their payout unreasonably, settlement negotiations could go on for a long time.
The extent of cooperation between the driver or insurance provider responsible.
If you have severe injuries, the insurance provider involved—whether yours or the other driver’s—will more certainly want to limit what they have to compensate and might be resistant to initial compensation requests. Suppose the other driver claims he was not at fault and demands that his insurance provider behaves accordingly. In that case, the insurance company can be uncooperative as well, depending on the merits of the driver’s assertion of innocence.
Legal proceedings.
If the initial settlement negotiations fail, the lawyer will almost certainly file a legal complaint. This can speed up the process, but it isn’t always the case. If an insurance adjuster refuses to settle for a legitimate cause, they do not lose points. If the insurance provider claims there is a valid reason to contest a claim, you might be in for a long fight.
Questions of fault
If the fault is not established, the other driver or his insurance provider will be unwilling to pay, or at least reluctant to settle for as much as you are requesting. For more answers to the question: How long does it take to settle an accident claim? Contact Us Today at 603-224-6999.
