How Long Does a Car Accident Settlement Take?

iving c

n be ne

ve-

cking, even fo

the most expe

ienced

nd c

utious of moto

ists. B

ccidents h

ppen to good people

ll the time, due to the unp

edict

bility of the people

e sh

e the

ith. Eve

y ye

, millions of c

ccidents

oss the United St

tes le

d to se

ious inju

y o

th. In one ye

lone,

ds s<

ef="https:

.iihs.o

g/topics/f

lity-st

tistics

det

te-by-st

te” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

nofollo

efee

“> 36,560 moto

vehicle f

lities<>. Numbe

s like th

t e f

ightening enough to m

ke you nt to

ide

k inste

d of buckling into you

(

nd hey, those t

bout equ

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

ith ou

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

ult, but

ill still le

ve us inju

nd suffe

ing.

But

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

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

ccident lye

to h

ndle you

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

huge

ole in

ccident c

se. In the simplest sense, identifying

s “

t f

ult” dete

mines

ho h

s leg

l li

bility fo

ges—but f

ult

lso me

ns someone’s insunce p

emiums

bout to

ise. N

tully, people e despete to

void this consequence even if they c

elessly c

used

sh.

guing

bout

ho is

t f

ult c

n dg out the timeline of

ccident settlement.

fte

ll,

n insunce comp

on’t even begin conside

ing ho

much it h

s to p

y to

n inju

ed pty until it kno

s fo

e th

t it h

n oblig

tion to do so.

To help

se move p

st f

ult disputes,

e encouge

nyone

ho gets into

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>

ong evidence like this c

n help you speed th

ough the timeline of

esolving you

im fo

ges. If you

e too inju

ed o

fzzled to do this, ho

eve

ccident l

to investig

s soon

s you c

ite do

n eve

ything you c

emembe

befo

e you

memo

ies begin to f

de.

Ho
Much of
Huy e You in to Settle the C
se?

nothe

impo

nt p

t of ho

long you

se t

kes to settle depends on the

illingness of the pties to negoti

te…

nd th

t includes you.

Decide

t is mo

e impo

nt to you:

quick

esolution o lge

settlement?

settlement offe

y stt lond

ise ove

time, th

nks to the h

k of you

ccident l

. The less time they h

ve to

k thei

gic

nd negoti

ith insunce comp

nies fo

you, the lo

the ch

nces of

chieving

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

n negoti

ting style. Some insu

nt to m

l. Othe

s just

nt to b

ttle it out fo feounds. Even though you c

n’t cont

ho ends up on the othe

side of you

ccident cl

im, unfo

tun

tely, th

t c

ffect ho

much time it t

kes to get to

ind

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

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

tto

ney ne you.

Ho
Much
ill My Fin
l Settlement Be?

If only

e could

hip out ou

yst

l b

nd tell you ho

much you

se is

th. Unfo

tun

tely the

e is no y to p

edict ho

much you

ill

eceive f

ccident suit

ithout fi

st h

ving

leg

l p

ofession

l dig into the det

ils of unique c

se, such

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 Long Does a Settlement for a Car Accident Take?

Does
nyone Dispute F
ult?

Ho
Much of
Huy e You in to Settle the C
se?

Othe
F
cto
s Th
t M
y
ffect the Length of You
C
se

Ho
Much
ill My Fin
l Settlement Be?

Testimonials

Does nyone Dispute Fult?

Ho Much of Huy e You in to Settle the Cse?

Othe Fcto s Tht M y ffect the Length of You Cse

Ho Much ill My Finl Settlement Be?

Testimonials

Read More

Does
nyone Dispute F
ult?

Ho
Much of
Huy e You in to Settle the C
se?

Othe
F
cto
s Th
t M
y
ffect the Length of You
C
se

Ho
Much
ill My Fin
l Settlement Be?