When you're badly injured, the last thing you want to think about is filling out paperwork, searching for an attorney, or trying to gather evidence. Yet, these steps are necessary if you want to collect the compensation you deserve due to someone else's negligence. The more you know about personal injury cases and hiring an attorney, the less stressful this time will be.
We've created this website to offer basic personal injury law advice for anyone who has been injured or who may become injured in the future. Keep in mind that if you've been injured in a car accident, due to medical neglect, or even by slipping in someone else's parking lot, your case qualifies a personal injury case — and thus you'll find our collection of articles relevant.
Dealing with money issues in the wake of an injury can leave you wondering how quickly you might arrive at a settlement. When a personal injury attorney looks at a case, several factors tend to indicate how likely the case is to conclude soon. Here are four of those factors for you to consider.
Injury Complexity
The difference between a claim settling in weeks versus months or years often boils down to the complexity of the injuries involved. Someone who suffered a complex fracture of the forearm, for example, is likely to sort things out faster than a person who has brain trauma. The brain injury case may take a while because it will probably involve specialists who have to perform scans or even do exploratory surgeries.
Although a personal injury lawyer wants to see a client paid as soon as possible, pumping the brakes a bit may make sense. In particular, a client only gets one shot at settling a case with an insurance company. You don't want to settle the claim quickly only to discover later that your injuries are worse than originally thought. Otherwise, you'll find it close to impossible to seek more compensation.
Whether the Defendant Is Insured
A self-insured defendant might settle a case rapidly. However, a personal injury attorney always would prefer to deal with an insurance claims adjuster. Adjusters are professionals who can speedily assess claims. More importantly, they're authorized to make any settlement that will keep the insurance company from risking a massive judgment in court. That means adjusters are motivated to conclude cases as soon as possible so they can eliminate risk to the insurance carrier.
The Initial Demand Letter
When a claim goes to a defendant's insurance provider, a demand letter accompanies it. A personal injury lawyer wants to craft a demand letter that spares no details and gets the point across about the severity of the client's situation.
Police and Medical Reports
Obtaining detailed reports from first responders often makes a huge difference in a case. Professionals can provide eyewitness testimony about the state of the scene where the incident happened. Likewise, they can supply reports that explain how the injuries occurred.
Adjusters generally take these reports very seriously, and that can give them some pause if they're on the fence about rejecting a claim. If you have a case built on the statements of EMTs, cops, nurses, firefighters, and doctors, that might sway a jury, and the adjuster may elect to avoid the risk and just settle. Reach out to a personal injury lawyer for more information.