How Long Does It Take to Settle a Personal Injury Case?
If you are considering filing a personal injury lawsuit, you may be wondering how long it will take to see results. At Estey & Bomberger, LLP, we have years of experience bringing personal injury lawsuits to trial. But we also work hard to achieve settlements that fairly compensate our clients for their injuries. This post will discuss how long personal injury cases take, from filing to settlement or trial.
Settling a Personal Injury Case
If you have been involved in an accident, like a car wreck for example, and decide to file a personal injury lawsuit, it can take months or even years to reach a settlement agreement with the parties responsible for your injuries and other losses.
Sometimes, insurance companies make “lowball” settlement offers within weeks or months of an accident taking place. These offers are made in an effort to dissuade accident victims from pursuing their lawsuit or case further. Many of our clients reject these offers because they are not adequate compensation for the injuries and other losses they have suffered. Often, these offers will not take into account lost wages or pain and suffering.
If you choose to reject (or do not receive) an initial settlement offer from an insurance company, you and your lawyer may decide to proceed with pre-trial preparation.
Many settlement agreements are reached during the pre-trial period. If your case is complex, this process can take several months or even years to complete.
Before a personal injury case goes to trial, a process known as discovery must take place. Discovery is the legal process by which opposing parties in a lawsuit can obtain evidence from one another. The discovery process typically includes interviews, depositions, and requests for documents.
Often, cases are settled after some or all discovery takes place. For example, it may appear after evidence is gathered through discovery that a plaintiff has a very strong case. The defendant may make a settlement offer then to avoid the costs associated with going to trial. It can benefit a defendant to settle a strong personal injury case before trial, because a jury may be willing to award a large verdict.
It is difficult to say how long the settlement process will take. The answer very much depends on the legal and factual issues specific to your case. If you have questions about the settlement process, you should speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer.
If you are looking for the best personal injury attorneys in SD, consider this team. The San Diego injury attorneys at Estey & Bomberger, LLP has achieved multi-million settlement agreements for their seriously-injured clients.
Bringing a Personal Injury Case to Trial
The experienced trial attorneys at Estey & Bomberger, LLP have also won multi-million dollar jury verdicts for clients. They have years of experience arguing before juries, and are known for their use of focus groups in preparing for trial.
A trial can be a lengthy process. Typically, civil trials last between 3 and 10 days once they are before a jury and ready to be heard. However, it can take many months to prepare for a case to go to trial. From the date of filing to the date of verdict, you can expect a personal injury lawsuit to last around one year or more.
It can be very difficult to tell how long a case will take to reach a settlement or jury verdict. If you are considering filing a personal injury lawsuit, you should speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer right away. Call them in San Diego today! (619) 295-0035