Predicting the length of time a personal injury lawsuit will take is difficult because there are so many variables in each client’s case. The Clauson Law Firm always presses our clients’ claims at the quickest pace possible for each individual case. Some accident cases are resolved in a few months with no need to file a lawsuit. Other cases involve factors that slow settlement and may require the formal commencement of a lawsuit.
Some of the major factors that affect how long a personal injury lawsuit include these:
- The severity of your injury.
- The complexity of the legal issues (proving liability).
- The amount of damages we demand for our client (larger demands are resisted longer).
- Our clients’ level of financial need and patience.
- The courthouse case backlog.
The Severity of Your Injury
When our client suffers severe, life-changing personal injuries, negotiating a settlement must wait until we know the full extent of the injury and how well they will recover. The settlement amount must include enough money to compensate for future pain and suffering, medical expenses, therapies, and adaptive equipment. Generally, the more severe the injury, the higher the demand for compensation, and the longer the time required to take the case to trial or reach a satisfactory settlement.
The Complexity of Legal Issues
Proving liability is required in every personal injury case. In some circumstances, the legal issue is simple, as in a rear-end car accident. The driver who failed to stop or control their auto is at fault. But other fact patterns present more complex legal issues. Medical malpractice cases, products liability cases, and even tractor-trailer accident cases can require extensive investigation, consultation with expert witnesses, multiple large corporate defendants, many time-consuming depositions, and numerous pretrial motion hearings.
As experienced personal injury litigators, our team of attorneys and support staff continues moving each case toward its best resolution with the highest compensation achievable for our client.
Amount of Damages Demanded for Our Client
Insurance companies pay the settlements and jury trial awards for their insured customers. These large corporations try every tactic they can to avoid paying one cent more than necessary in personal injury cases. When one of Clauson Law’s clients suffers a serious injury and deserves a large amount of compensation, we use every skill to ensure we win every cent our client is entitled to. Where liability is unclear, it is these fierce disputes over large sums of money that are often put into formal lawsuits and taken to trial.
Client’s Financial Need and Patience
Insurance companies know that victims of negligence who suffer personal injuries are often unable to work, have mounting medical bills, and live with constant stress about the future. Insurance companies try to stall and delay resolving larger-sized settlements of lawsuits because they want the victim to “need’ to settle. They hope pressure will lead to a “low ball” settlement because the injured party can’t wait. Our client’s ability to resist pressure and to continue to be patient is a factor in whether a case resolves before its full value has been offered in settlement.
At Clauson Law, we honor our clients’ individual needs and decisions. We are here to serve each of our personal injury clients by obtaining the highest possible financial compensation considering the facts of the case and the client’s personal circumstances.
Courthouse Backlog
Perhaps the most frustrating source of delay is the courthouse case backlog. Occasionally, a backlog occurs slowing the progress of everyone’s lawsuits through the court system. We work diligently to ensure our clients’ cases move as speedily as possible.
Francis Babet loves pursuing excellence through writing and has a passion for Legal. He currently writes for The law Firm, a USA Based Law Firm that provides SSD, SSI, SSDI, Personal Injury, and Drugs and Devices. His work has been published on various sites related to Social Security Disability, Supplemental Security Income and more.
