How Long Does it Take to Settle a Case? Let a Stroudsburg Personal Injury Lawyer Help

The time it takes before you receive a settlement from a personal injury or time it takes for your case to go to trial will depend on several factors, such as:

• What Type of Case You Are Involved In. For example, a fender-bender with minimal injuries will not take as much time as a multi-car accident with injuries that require hospitalization.
• The Number and Severity of the Injuries. Numerous and severe injuries take time to assess in terms of medical costs.
• The Facts Surrounding Your Case. The more complex the facts, the more time a case will take.
• The Complexity of the Issues Involved in Your Case. Many times, the legal issues involved in your case will have been litigated many times in the past, and so the legal analysis is quite simple. Occasionally, however, there may be new and novel issues raised, and so both sides take quite a bit of time to prepare their arguments.
• What Type of Settlement You Are Seeking. If you are the injured party, your opponent will likely be happy to quickly settle for an amount that is relatively low. On the other hand, if you are determined to have every penny you believe you are entitled to, the settlement negotiations will become contentious and drawn out.
• Whether the Case Goes to Trial or Not. Trials can stretch out for months or even years. If the sides are unable to settle the case fairly quickly, the trial will commence.

If you have been injured, contact a Stroudsburg personal injury lawyer for help.

About Maximum Medical Improvement

Another critical factor when trying to predict how long a settlement will take is known as “maximum medical improvement” (MMI). MMI has been defined as “the point at which the condition of an injured person is stabilized. No further recovery or improvement is expected even with additional medical intervention. Basically, a condition is at maximum medical improvement if it is not believed that the condition will change or progress.”

This is very important in personal injury settlements because the final tally of medical expenses for injured victims cannot be determined until MMI has been reached.

Settling Short

So, perhaps as a victim, you find yourself in the unenviable position where you recognize that your case will likely be worth more if you wait to reach MMI, for example, but you need the money now. How do you determine what you should settle for? In other words, should you settle short?

There are no settled rules regarding short settlements. The defendant’s settlement offer might be 30 to 50 percent of what you might be offered if you allow your case to go all the way to the eve of trial. If you’re bringing a personal injury claim, and you just want to settle it fast without getting involved in a long litigation process, your best bet is to contact a Stroudsburg personal injury lawyer to help you analyze all of the factors involved and come up with a comprehensive and strategic settlement negotiation plan. 

Contact a Stroudsburg Personal Injury Lawyer at Drake, Hileman & Davis for Help With Your Settlement

The settlement process is deceptively complicated, requiring advanced strategy and consideration of multiple factors. If you work with a Stroudsburg personal injury lawyer at Drake, Hileman & Davis, you can obtain the best settlement in the shortest amount of time.

Contact us for further information and to schedule your free consultation.