How Long Does It Take to Settle an Auto Accident?
It’s common for people to wonder how long a car injury settlement takes to complete. However, it’s not something where you get results overnight. Depending on some critical factors, an auto accident settlement can take a few weeks or even years.
That’s why it’s better to hire a Burbank auto accident lawyer immediately when you encounter a car accident. They can help file your case right away, avoid unnecessary delays, and handle these factors for you.
1. Extent of Injury
The severity of your injuries can affect the length of the settlement process. The extent of injury affects many things like:
- Pain and suffering you experience
- Overall medical expenses, including treatment, therapies, and medical aid devices, among others
- Lost wages and income
- And many others
In most cases, you only need a few days or weeks to settle a minor injury. That’s because your attorney can quickly determine your expenses and your lost income due to the injury.
However, severe injuries may require that you and your lawyer wait for a long time. For example, your lawyer may need to wait for your complete recovery to determine your overall medical expenses. That’s critical because you can’t claim additional compensation after the settlement.
2. Amount of Compensation Claim
The amount you’re requesting as compensation can also affect the length of your case. That’s because the liable party’s car insurance provider will try to settle at a lower amount.
Besides, the insurance company has to pay more for claims seeking higher compensation amounts.
They will thus try everything possible to decrease the amount. You and your attorney wouldn’t want to settle for low compensation when you deserve more. That’s when the case takes longer to resolve.
3. Proving Liabilities
Any personal injury case needs to prove liability and negligence in court.
However, the process consumes a long time, especially since California is a pure comparative negligence state. That means the court needs to determine the amount of fault for you and the other party.
That means you need to prove liability, which takes you to the next point.
4. Collecting of Evidence
To prove liability and negligence, your lawyer must collect all evidence related to the accident like:
- Police report
- Pictures of the accident
- Medical reports and documents
- Medical bills
- Repair bills or quotes for your damaged vehicle
- Driving history of the at-fault driver
- Lost wages and lost income report
- Statements from witnesses
Gathering evidence can help your case get fruitful results. However, it may sometimes be difficult for your attorney to collect all the relevant information. An example is when they need to talk with a lot of witnesses to support your case. They then need to arrange the witnesses’ schedule for court proceedings.
You can help your attorney by providing all the necessary documents. Clicking as many photos of the accident scene and collecting vital information from the at-fault party also helps.
5. Delaying Tactics of the Insurance Provider
As mentioned above, insurance providers tend to delay the case, especially when you demand significant compensation. That’s when they try to use different tactics to delay the case.
For example, they may pretend that they haven’t received your settlement agreement even if they did. Some insurance providers would even try to make you miss deadlines to cancel the case.
So, remember to have your lawyer beside you when dealing with an insurance provider. A professional attorney can protect you from underhanded tactics that these companies use.
Call the Best Auto Accident Attorney in Burbank to Start Your Case
All of these factors can make your car accident case last a few months or even years. You don’t want to have to wait that long to receive the compensation you deserve.
The best Burbank auto accident lawyer can quicken the process and help ensure you receive your rightfully deserved compensation.