News & opinion How Long Does a Settlement for a Car Accident Take?

How Long Does a Settlement for a Car Accident Take?

how long does a car settlement take

D

iving c

n be ne

ve-

cking, even fo

the most expe

ienced

nd c

utious of moto

ists. B

d

ccidents h

ppen to good people

ll the time, due to the unp

edict

bility of the people

e sh

e the

o

d

ith. Eve

y ye

, millions of c

ccidents

c

oss the United St

tes le

d to se

ious inju

y o

de

th. In one ye

lone,

me

ic

n

o

ds s<

h

ef="https:

/

.iihs.o

g/topics/f

t

lity-st

tistics

det

il

st

te-by-st

te” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

nofollo

no

efee

“> 36,560 moto

vehicle f

t

lities<>. Numbe

s like th

t e f

ightening enough to m

ke you nt to

ide

co

to

o

k inste

d of buckling into you

c

(

nd hey, those t

o

e

bout equ

l

hen it comes to emissions). Still, most of us choose to stick

ith ou

cs

nd t

ucks out of convenience. Th

t’s not going to ch

nge

ny time soon. This me

ns m

ny of us

ill get into

ccidents th

t en’t ou

f

ult, but

ill still le

ve us inju

ed

nd suffe

ing.

But

h

t h

ppens

fte

the

ccident? Specific

lly, ho

long

ill it t

ke fo

you to get the money you dese

ve fo

the inju

ies you sust

ined? You nt to get p

id f

st, but sevel f

cto

s c

n

ffect the timeline

nd success of you

settlement. (P

o tip: The best

y to expedite you

eceipt of the m

ximum p

yout is to hi

e

c

ccident lye

to h

ndle you

cl

im.

e’ll clue you in on

hy belo

.)

Ho

M

ny P

ties

e

e in the

ccident?<

h2>

hen t

o people

gue ove

money, things get complic

ted quickly. No

dd

nothe

pe

son,

nd

nothe

,

nd

nothe

– none of them nt to p

y,

nd

ll of them

nt to pin the bl

me on someone else.

esolving

dispute like this c

n seem impossible.

You m

y

onde

:

hy

ould

c

ccident cl

im involve multiple p

ties? Bec

use mo

e th

n one pty might be

t f

ult fo

c

using it, o

m

y h

ve leg

l

esponsibility fo

the

ctions of someone

ho did. (

d

ive

, the d

ive

’s employe

, the m

nuf

ctu

e

of bke p

ds th

t f

iled,

const

uction c

e

on the

o

d… the possibilities

e endless,

nd unique to e

ch c

se.)

skilled c

ccident lye

kno

s th

t you st

nd to g

in mo

e

hen multiple p

ties

e li

ble. The mo

e people o

entities

ho o

e

n inju

ed

ccident victim money, the bette

the ch

nces

e of th

t victim getting p

id the m

ximum d

m

ges the l

llo

s. So

hile h

ving mo

e li

ble pties c

n m

ke you

cl

im t

ke longe

to

esolve, it c

n

lso st

engthen you

c

se.

Ho

Seve

e e You

Inju

ies?<

h2>
You

ould think th

t the mo

e seve

e you

inju

y is, the mo

e

n insu

nce comp

ny

ould

e

lize ho

b

dly you need money

nd suppo

t… but th

t’s

ely ho

it

o

ks. Insunce comp

nies

nt to p

otect thei

inte

ests,

nd th

t me

ns being noto

iously stingy

ith even the most seve

ely inju

ed victims. In f

ct, the mo

e money

t st

ke bec

use of the seve

ity of

n inju

y, the longe

it genelly t

kes fo

insunce comp

nies to m

ke you e

son

ble offe

. They

ill often dismiss, inv

lid

te,

nd m

nipul

te you

s they t

y to convince you you’ll be “b

ck to no

m

l” in no time. Sometimes, it p

ys to

it. You m

y discove

ho

n inju

y inte

fe

es

ith you

qu

lity of life in diffe

ent ys, o

ho

you

physic

l o

psychologic

l tum

s m

y

o

sen

s months go by. This c

n le

d to l

ge

settlement

mounts.

ny Speci

l Ci

cumst

nces to Conside

?<

h2>
Not m

ny c

ccidents come

ith stightfod, cle pictu

es of li

bility

nd d

m

ges. C

ccident cl

ims t

ke time to

esolve, especi

lly

hen the d

ive

s involved h

ve diffe

ent

ecollections of

h

t h

ppened.

dd in c

imin

l beh

vio

o

othe

esc

l

ting ci

cumst

nces,

nd the

hole situ

tion c

n dg out even longe

.

Fo

ex

mple:

  • ong><

    h

    ef="https:

    /c

    inju

    yvictims.com

    se

    vices

    d

    unkd

    iving-

    ccident-lye

    s/”>D

    unk d

    iving ><

    st

    ong>: Eve

    y ye

    , mo

    e th

    n<

    h

    ef=”https://

    .nhts

    .gov/

    isky-d

    iving/d

    unk-d

    iving” t

    get=”_bl

    nk"

    el=”noopene

    nofollo

    no

    efee

    “> 10,000 people die > in

    lcohol-

    el

    ted c

    shes. D

    inking imp

    i

    s

    d

    ive

    ’s decision-m

    king

    bility

    nd

    e

    ction time. If the

    ccident

    esults in se

    ious inju

    y o

    de

    th, the d

    ive

    m

    y f

    ce c

    imin

    l chges,

    nd the victims’ d

    m

    ges cl

    ims m

    y benefit f

    om iting until those chges h

    ve been

    esolved.<

    li>

  • ong>Cl

    ims

    g

    inst

    gove

    nment entity ong>: Sometimes,

    gove

    nment entity’s

    ctions c

    use

    c

    ccident. Fo

    ex

    mple,

    municip

    l bus could csh into

    p

    ssenge

    c

    .

    const

    uction c

    e

    could f

    il to

    n d

    ive

    s

    bout

    d

    nge

    ous

    o

    d condition.

    gove

    nment enginee

    could design

    n inte

    section

    ith h

    zdous sightlines.

    h

    teve

    the ci

    cumst

    nce,

    potenti

    l cl

    im

    g

    inst

    gove

    nment entity c

    n muddle the timeline of

    c

    ccident c

    se.<

    li>

  • <
    h

    ef=”https://c

    inju

    yvictims.comecove

    -compens

    tion-f

    om-hit-

    un-d

    ive

    s

    “> ong>Hit

    nd

    un:<

    st

    ong><> The ultim

    te go

    l of

    pe

    son

    l inju

    y c

    se is to

    ecove

    d

    m

    ges f

    om the

    t-f

    ult pty. But

    h

    t if the

    t-f

    ult pty flees the scene? Youtto

    ney might suggest m

    king

    cl

    im

    g

    inst you

    uninsu

    ed moto

    ist cove

    ge (if you c

    y it), but convincing you

    c

    ie

    th

    t you c

    nnot loc

    te the othe

    d

    ive

    might t

    ke time.<

    li>

These

e just some ex

mples. The point is, de

ling

ith

c

ccident is neve

e

sy,

nd you neve

knoh

t kind of biz

e situ

tion could inte

fe

e

ith the p

og

ess of

c

ccident cl

im. Th

t’s

hy it is so impo

t

nt to hi

e

n

tto

ney

ho h

s enough expe

ience to

oll

ith the punches

nd to keep you

c

se on t

ck.

Does

nyone Dispute F

ult?

The concept of “f

ult” pl

ys

huge

ole in

c

ccident c

se. In the simplest sense, identifying

ho

s “

t f

ult” dete

mines

ho h

s leg

l li

bility fo

d

m

ges—but f

ult

lso me

ns someone’s insunce p

emiums

e

bout to

ise. N

tully, people e despete to

void this consequence even if they c

elessly c

used

c

sh.

guing

bout

ho is

t f

ult c

n dg out the timeline of

c

ccident settlement.

fte

ll,

n insunce comp

ny

on’t even begin conside

ing ho

much it h

s to p

y to

n inju

ed pty until it kno

s fo

su

e th

t it h

s

n oblig

tion to do so.

To help

c

se move p

st f

ult disputes,

e encouge

nyone

ho gets into

c

c

sh to g

thes much evidence

t the scene

s possible. This includes:
  • ong>Pictu

    es of the vehicles<

    st

    ong>: T

    ke pictu

    es of both cs –

    nd thei

    d

    m

    ge – f

    om

    dist

    nce

    nd up close.<

    li>

  • ong>Pictu

    es of the othe

    d

    ive

    ’s license pl

    te ong>: You

    ouldn’t believe ho

    m

    ny people cl

    im they didn’t even get into

    n

    ccident. But if you h

    ve

    pictu

    e of thei

    license pl

    te, thei

    sto

    y

    on’t hold up in cou

    t.

  • ong>Evidence of p

    ope

    ty d

    m

    ge<

    st

    ong>: s

    st

    eet sign o

    fence knocked ove

    by the

    ccident? You

    nt to g

    the

    enough evidence to

    ec

    e

    te the scene if necessy.<

    li>

  • ong>

    itness info

    m

    tion ong>: If othe

    people s

    you

    ccident h

    ppen, don’t just let them d

    ive off!

    sk fo

    thei

    cont

    ct info

    m

    tion.

    itnesses c

    n help expl

    in

    ny disc

    ep

    ncies in the d

    ive

    s’ sto

    ies.<

    li>

St

ong evidence like this c

n help you speed th

ough the timeline of

esolving you

cl

im fo

d

m

ges. If you

e

e too inju

ed o

fzzled to do this, ho

eve

,

sk

c

ccident l

ye

to investig

te

s soon

s you c

n,

nd

ite do

n eve

ything you c

n

emembe

befo

e you

memo

ies begin to f

de.

Ho

Much of

Huy e You in to Settle the C

se?

nothe

impo

t

nt p

t of ho

long you

c

se t

kes to settle depends on the

illingness of the pties to negoti

te…

nd th

t includes you.

Decide

h

t is mo

e impo

t

nt to you:

quick

esolution o lge

settlement?

settlement offe

m

y stt lond

ise ove

time, th

nks to the h

d

o

k of you

c

ccident l

ye

. The less time they h

ve to

o

k thei

m

gic

nd negoti

te

ith insunce comp

nies fo

you, the lo

e

the ch

nces of

chieving

m

ximum settlement p

yout.

The timeline

lso depends on hoilling the insunce comp

ny is to come to the t

ble. Eve

ybody h

s thei

o

n negoti

ting style. Some insu

e

s

nt to m

ke

de

l. Othe

s just

nt to b

ttle it out fo feounds. Even though you c

n’t cont

ol

ho ends up on the othe

side of you

c

ccident cl

im, unfo

tun

tely, th

t c

n

ffect ho

much time it t

kes to get to

f

ind

e

son

ble settlement.

h

t

bout the St

tute of Limit

tions?<

h2>
The st

tute of limit

tions

efe

s to ho

long

pe

son h

s to file

lsuit fo

d

m

ges.

In othe

o

ds, the st

tute of limit

tions

egul

tes ho

much time you h

ve to t

ke leg

l

ction fo

compens

tion. It h

s nothing to do ho

long th

t p

ocess

ill t

ke once st

ted. Keep in mind th

t it t

kes time to investig

te

nd collect evidence—much of

hich could dis

ppe

if you don’t

ct quickly. The soone

you connect

ith

c

ccident lye

, the bette

. This l vies f

om st

te to st

te. Fo

ex

mple, in Tex

s,

ccident victims h

ve<

h

ef="https:

/st

tutes.c

pitol.tex

s.gov

Docs/CP/htm/CP.16.htm” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

nofollo

no

efee

“> t

o yes<> to file

c

ccident inju

y suit, but in Louisi

n

, they only h

ve<

h

ef="http:

/legis.l

.gov

Legis/L

.

spx?d=110515" tget="_bl

nk”

el="noopene

nofollo

no

efe

e

"> one ye<> to file

c

se.

c

ccident lye

c

n help you dete

mine you

st

te’s st

tute of limit

tions

nd the best cou

se of

ction. Igno

ing the st

tute of limit

tions could me

n you

ill neve

get

settlement. If

st

tute of limit

tions pe

iod expi

es befo

e you t

ke leg

l

ction, you genelly lose you

leg

l

ights to d

m

ges

ltogethe

. To m

ke su

e th

t doesn’t h

ppen, seek the help of

n expe

ienced c

ccident

tto

ney

s soon

s possible.

Do You H

ve

n Expe

ienced C

ccident

tto

ney?<

h2>
e id="

tt

chment_28041" i

-desc

ibedby="c

ption-

tt

chment-28041″ style=”

idth: 225px" cl

ss=”

p-c

ption

lign

ight”> ss="

p-im

ge-28041" title="T

uck

ccident Lye

” s

c="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.comp-content

uplo

ds

2019/08/c

ccident-lye

-300×295.jpg”

lt="Ste

t J. Guss”

idth="225" height="221"

> ption id="c

ption-

tt

chment-28041″ cl

ss="

p-c

ption-text"><

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

ou

-te

m/ste

t-guss

“>Ste

t J. Guss<>, C

ccident L

ye

<

figc

ption><

figu

e>

hen you’

e de

ling

ith the

fte

m

th of

csh,

n expe

ienced c

ccident

tto

ney c

n me

n the diffe

ence bet

een dev

st

tion o

celebtion. You might not knoh

t you’

e o

ed, but it’s thei

job to!

c

ccident inju

y

tto

ney kno

s ho

to

o

k

ith insunce comp

nies to get you the m

ximum compens

tion you dese

ve, quickly

nd efficiently. Do not simply c

ll the fi

st l

ye

you find on Google. Choose

n

tto

ney

ho h

s ye

s of expe

ience

ep

esenting c

ccident clients.

Othe

F

cto

s Th

t M

y

ffect the Length of You

C

se

The go

l of

pe

son

l inju

y c

se is to get you you

money

s quickly

s possible. But sometimes, ci

cumst

nces ise th

t c

n completely deil the timeline. This m

y include:

  • ong>P

    e-existing inju

    ies<

    st

    ong>: P

    e-existing inju

    ies do not p

    event you f

    om filing

    pe

    son

    l inju

    y suit. In f

    ct, it is possible to get

    e

    son

    ble settlement

    ith p

    e-existing inju

    ies. Ho

    eve

    , p

    io

    inju

    ies p

    ovide something fo

    the insu

    nce comp

    ny to gue

    bout. The insu

    nce comp

    ny is looking fo

    ys to p

    y you less,

    nd they vie

    p

    e-existing conditions

    s the golden ticket. If you h

    ve

    p

    e-existing condition, count on the insu

    nce comp

    ny to use it

    g

    inst you.<

    li>

  • ong>Fud<

    st

    ong>: Sometimes people flee the scene, hide evidence, o

    lie

    bout hon

    ccident h

    ppened. They didn’t dodge you, but no

    they’

    e t

    ying to dodge li

    bility. This could inte

    fe

    e

    ith the timely

    esolution of you

    c

    se.<

    li>

  • ong>

    v

    il

    bility of

    itnesses<

    st

    ong>: In some c

    ses, you

    tto

    ney m

    y

    nt to use the testimony of

    n expe

    t

    itness to p

    ove you

    c

    se. Often, these individu

    ls h

    ve busy schedules

    nd m

    y schedule months out – but thei

    expe

    tise c

    n be

    o

    th the it.<

    li>

The best

y to h

ndle these unexpected complic

tions th

t c

n d

g out

timeline is—you guessed it—consulting

n expe

ienced c

ccident inju

y

tto

ney ne you.

Ho

Much

ill My Fin

l Settlement Be?

If only

e could

hip out ou

c

yst

l b

ll

nd tell you ho

much you

c

se is

o

th. Unfo

tun

tely the

e is no y to p

edict ho

much you

ill

eceive f

om

c

ccident suit

ithout fi

st h

ving

leg

l p

ofession

l dig into the det

ils of unique c

se, such

s:

  • The size of you
    medic

    l bills; including docto

    visits, hospit

    l st

    ys,

    eh

    bilit

    tion, medic

    tion,

    nd su

    ge

    ies.

  • You
    lost ges: fony time missed f

    om

    o

    k

    s

    di

    ect

    esult of the

    ccident.<

    li>

  • Ho
    much p

    in

    nd suffe

    ing you’ve endu

    ed; including physic

    l p

    in

    nd ment

    l

    nguish.

  • Loss of life enjoyment the
    ccident h

    s c

    used;

    hen you

    inju

    ies keep you f

    om doing the

    ctivities you enjoyed befo

    e the

    ccident.

  • D
    m

    ge to pe

    son

    l

    el

    tionships;

    hen physic

    l o

    ment

    l inju

    ies seve

    ely inte

    fe

    e

    ith youbility to c

    y on

    no

    m

    l

    el

    tionship

    ith people close to you.

Don’t

it to Get the Help You Dese

ve<

h2>
Obviously, the soone

you get stted on

cl

im fo

d

m

ges

fte c

ccident, the soone

you c

n get

settlement. The

e

e ve

y fe

ce

t

inties su

ounding the outcome of

c

ccident c

se, but

e c

n gu

ntee th

t nothing

ill h

ppen until you

ct. So

h

t

e you

iting fo

? Get the help you need by cont

cting

n expe

ienced c

ccident inju

y

tto

ney fo

f

ee c

se ev

lu

tion.

ong>Ste

t J. Guss ong> 12777 Jones

d Suite 297
Houston, Tex

s <

h

ef="tel:(281) 519-7366">(281) 519-7366<

a>

How Can We HELP Get a FREE Virtual Consultation
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Testimonials

Client testimonials "Mr. Guss & his team significantly exceeded my expectations and the net settlement I received was more than triple... - Norman B. View All Testimonials
Schedule a free virtual visit 866-552-1808 Or Send us a message today >

Read More

Handling Catastrophic Injury Claims for 20+ Years
Car Accident Attorneys Houston 19 Jan

  T ust us hen e sy the e isn’t nything “e sy” bout filing c insunce clim ith...

Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer 15 Jan

. to schedule f ee consulttion. Don’t del y! Youights e too impot nt. Signs of n Intoxic ted...

How to Claim for Whiplash After a Car Accident 10 Jan

He e’s scen io e see ll too often in ou line of o k: pe son lks y...

Get Legal Help Now Contact Our Attorneys To LEarn How We Can Help You Achieve The Justice You Deserve * Required Field
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.