There are many considerations in any personal injury case, and timing is one of them. Obviously, you do not want the legal process to continue for an indefinite period of time. Not only do you not want to deal with the stress, but you also need the money you are seeking to obtain if you win your case. Thus, one of the first questions you will ask a personal injury attorney is how long your lawsuit may take.
First, you may not even have to file a personal injury lawsuit. Depending on your case, your personal injury attorney may advise you to begin with the informal claims process, and you may be able to resolve your case with the responsible party’s insurance company. However, your personal injury attorney will handle all negotiations while keeping you in the decision-making process. If a fair settlement is not reached, an attorney will be prepared to go to court.
A personal injury lawsuit should take as long as necessary for you to achieve a satisfactory result. Here, the result that you want is being fully compensated for the injury that you have suffered. It can take a considerable amount of time for the lawsuit process to unfold, and you have little control over the timing. Besides hiring an experienced and tough personal injury attorney, you need to bring patience to the table because that is how you will recover the most possible money in your case.
The Insurance Company Wants to Wear You Down in Any Way That They Can
The insurance company believes that time is on their side in your case. They have the one thing that you want – money. They think that your own precarious financial situation may cause you to be more compliant and take the offer they are making you, even when it does not pay you the full amount that you deserve. The insurance company may be taken by surprise when they see that you are holding out for what you are due and exercising the maximum amount of patience in your case.
In terms of the actual timing of your personal injury lawsuit, the only answer that an attorney can give you is that your case may take a considerable amount of time. If you are forced to file a lawsuit (as opposed to resolving your case in the more informal claims process), the timing of your case can be measured in years instead of months. However, everything depends on the facts and circumstances of your own case, along with the court’s docket and schedule. The one constant is that there is little you can do to exert control over the situation besides hiring a tough personal injury lawyer. The hope is that the personal injury attorney can at least put enough pressure on the insurance company that they will try to take the off-ramp by settling your case before it goes to trial.
Know How the Process Workers Before You File Your Lawsuit
To understand the potential timetable of a personal injury lawsuit, you need to know what happens before and after the case is filed. Your personal injury attorney cannot go directly to court immediately after your injury. First, your personal injury lawyer needs to investigate the accident and compile enough proof and understanding of the case to draft a legal complaint. The document will state the facts of your case and the reasons why you are entitled to money. A complaint needs to be accurate and persuasive. The legal complaint alone will not win your case, but it needs to be strong enough to survive what will be an inevitable motion to dismiss your case.
You May Not Be Able to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit Immediately
Your personal injury attorney also needs to wait until your medical condition has stabilized to the point where you know what your future damages are. Before you can seek any amount of money in court, you need to be prepared to support and justify your damages. Just like liability, you are the one who has the burden of proof here. You need to know both your past and future damages because you are paid for both of them at the same time. It is only once you have reached the point of maximum medical improvement that you know the full extent of your damages.
Filing the legal complaint is just the introductory step in the lengthy court process. Once the complaint is filed and served on the defendant, the court will open up the case on its docket. The defendant gets thirty days to file their own response. Their answer will specifically respond to the facts that you have alleged, and the defendant will also get the opportunity to state their own facts that can have bearing on your case.
The Discovery Process May Be the Longest Part of Your Case
The complaint and answer begin what will be the lengthier part of the lawsuit process. In many cases, the defendant will then file a motion with the court to try to have your case dismissed. They may argue that you have failed to state a claim or another procedural issue, such as missing the statute of limitations. You will need to respond to the motion to dismiss and argue why your case should survive. It can take a considerable amount of time for the judge to rule on the motion to dismiss and write a decision.
Assuming your case is not dismissed, you will then embark on the longest and most vital part of your personal injury lawsuit. When your personal injury attorney drafted your complaint, they likely only had part of the evidence that you needed to prove your case to a jury. Some of the evidence may be in the defendant’s hands, and you have a legal right to obtain it. You will do this through the discovery process, where you can make reasonable requests to obtain relevant evidence.
There are several phases to discovery, each of which can take its own length of time. In the beginning, you can submit written questions to the defendant (and they can also submit questions to you) to ask them about certain key facts of the case. These can include interrogatories and requests for admission. You will also be able to request the production of documents that are relevant to your case. This category of discovery often runs into opposition, and you may even need to go to the judge with a motion to compel production.
You May Have Your Deposition Taken as Part of the Personal Injury Discovery Process
Once you have documentary evidence that you have obtained, the depositions phase of your lawsuit will begin. Each side can question the other party’s witnesses under oath. For you, it means that you will likely have your deposition taken if you are physically up to it. Opposing party’s attorney will ask you questions under oath for an extended period of time. They will likely be asking questions that can yield evidence about what happened during the accident and your physical condition. Not only does the defendant want to try to poke holes in your case, but they may also take issue with the amount of money that you are claiming as damages in your case. Your personal injury lawyer will be present to defend you at the deposition, but you will need to answer the questions that are asked of you. A strong performance at your deposition can persuade the defendant that you will be a credible witness at trial.
The trial judge will have allotted a certain amount of time for discovery and then for motions to be filed afterwards. It can still be a considerable amount of time before your case will go to trial. The judge will need to rule on these motions, and they will also give each party the time to prepare their case should it head all the way to a hearing.
The Trial Usually Does Not Take a Long Time
The trial itself may actually be the quickest part of your case. The judge will allow each side a certain amount of time to present their case. If your case is a complex one, you can expect more time. If it is less complex, your trial can be over in a matter of days after the extended lead up to it. Once each side has presented their case (your case goes before that of the defendant), the jury will deliberate and issue a verdict. If they rule in your favor, they will award you a certain amount of damages that may not be exactly what you have sought. Both you and the defendant have the right to appeal a verdict if you believe that errors were made. An appeal can add an undetermined amount of time to your case, even after you have won the initial verdict in trial court. The exact timetable is up to the appeals court, but it can still take longer before you are able to get your money.
You should be conservative and anticipate a timetable that relies on the fact that your case will go to a jury trial. The reality is that hearings rarely happen in personal issues cases. Roughly 5 percent of personal injury lawsuits will end in a jury trial. The more likely outcome is that you and the defendant will settle your case at some point before it goes to trial.
When Your Personal Injury Lawsuit May Settle
Although a personal injury lawsuit can settle at any time during the legal process, there are several natural junctures in your case that may lead to intensified efforts to negotiate a settlement before trial. They are:
- Early in your case, when the defendant has tried and failed to have the lawsuit dismissed through a motion
- At the conclusion of the discovery process, when the insurance company realizes that you have built a strong case that your personal injury attorney can present to a jury
- After each side has sought summary judgment in a motion, and the judge has denied them and determined that the case needs to go to trial
Both you and the insurance company have your own motivations for wanting to settle the case. You do not want to take a risk that the jury may not find the defendant liable for your injuries, resulting in no compensation to you. The insurance company does not want to be ordered to pay a large verdict, which can be much greater than they were offering you in a settlement. At some point, your interests will converge, and both parties will want to sign a settlement agreement.
Be Prepared and Patient for the Personal Injury Lawsuit Process
Although it may cause you a considerable amount of stress, you must be prepared for the personal injury process to take as long as possible for you to get the full amount of money you deserve. The personal injury lawsuit process is not designed to move quickly, no matter how much you need the money. Patience is your strongest virtue when you find yourself in this situation. You need to take comfort in the fact that you have hired a tough and experienced personal injury lawyer, and they are committed to doing everything that it takes to achieve the best possible result for you from your lawsuit. In many cases, that may be a settlement agreement, which happens after a lengthy period of time.
The insurance company will certainly be able to sense it if you are impatient and acting from a place of fear. They can do everything in their own power to add time to your case, knowing that they are up against a weaker hand. Working in tandem with your personal injury lawyer, you can turn the tables on the insurance company and up the pressure on them. If you do not fold when they try to challenge you, the insurance company will soon realize that you cannot be pushed around, and their focus may turn more toward settling your case.
Hire A Personal Injury Attorney
You have been injured due to someone else’s negligence? You should always hire a seasoned personal injury attorney in your jurisdiction to advocate for you. Strict timelines apply, make the call today.
