Why is my personal injury case taking SO LONG?
TIME FACTORS OF PERSONAL INJURY CASE
Your personal injury attorney should fully explain to you why your case is taking so long. There are many legitimate reasons why a personal injury case takes as long as it does, but if your attorney cannot explain why your case is still pending, you may want to consider changing attorneys. Some law firms sign more cases than they can handle, and your case may be in an overlooked filing cabinet, feel free to ask for an update.
Here are the factors that will affect the length of a personal injury case:
- Insurance coverage
- Treatment duration
- Insurance Company Policies
- Responsibility
- Quality of Medical Reports
- severity of injuries
- case type
- Intangibles
INSURANCE COVERAGE
The minimum policy limits for automobile liability insurance coverage in New York are 25/50. This means that the most that can be paid is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per incident. So if you were seriously injured, the only person injured in the accident and it was clearly the other car’s fault, your case can be settled very quickly. The insurance company will likely “offer” your policy to you, meaning they will pay your policy in full. Under the circumstances, it would be “bad faith” if they didn’t. Unfortunately, even though your case is resolved quickly, you will not be able to get much money.
Let’s say you had the same serious injuries and good liability, but the other vehicle was a truck with $1,000,000 coverage. This is where you don’t want to rush. Sure, you COULD solve this case quickly, but that wouldn’t be the best way to handle it. With only $25,000 to collect, the case can be settled before treatment is over, but with more money to collect, there would be no point in even trying to settle the case before treatment is complete, since medical treatment is “damages”. and damages”. “that increase the value of your case. This is where we want to wait for a good settlement and litigate if one isn’t offered. This is going to make the case take a lot longer, but it’s worth it.
TREATMENT DURATION
More serious injuries generally mean longer treatment. Clients sometimes ask why their case is not resolved when they are actively receiving medical treatment or are still unable to work. It is not possible to know the value of the case until the treatment is completed, and to try to settle a case at that time would be to sell it down. For example, if injuries put you out of work for a year and a half, your case may not be settled for at least a year and a half (assuming there is ample insurance coverage). On the other hand, a case with minor injuries that require little treatment may settle sooner, but will not produce as high a settlement. The important thing to ask an attorney is why the case is taking as long as it is; You need to make sure that they are not just sitting on the file cabinet because they are too busy with other cases.
INSURANCE COMPANY POLICIES
Some insurance companies have a policy of wanting to settle fairly quickly. They have a team of claims representatives who follow up on your cases and answer calls from attorneys. You can send them a medical package which they will review in a timely manner and then make you an offer in a reasonable amount of time. If the offer is not acceptable, a lawsuit can be initiated. In fact, there are companies that good: one of the best has some funny animal commercials.
Other insurance companies do not want to settle. They have few claims representatives and don’t bother to return calls. They ask for 60 days to review medical records. They make lousy offers to settle cases. Lawyers know what companies are and know that lengthy litigation will be necessary. Some attorneys won’t even take cases if they know they’re with certain insurance companies! If your case is taking a long time because you are against an insurance company that is not actively settling cases, it is not your attorney’s fault. It doesn’t matter if your Aunt Jean made a lot of money very quickly with a case against a “good” insurance company.
LIABILITY AND YOUR PERSONAL INJURY CASE
If you have a police report that says you were hit in the rear by a drunk driver who was texting, chances are there is no dispute over liability. This speeds up the case as the only discussion is “damages”. On the other hand, if the other guy went through a light, but claims that you went through the light, it may be necessary to litigate the case through depositions before it can be resolved. This is frustrating when you saw the other guy go through the light, but that’s what courts and judges are for. Depositions cannot be held until both parties have exchanged documents and after several court conferences. This case is not going to be quick to get the full value.
QUALITY OF MEDICAL PARTS
Dealing with high-quality medical providers who know how to produce accident reports is helpful for faster settlement. Medical reports that are scribbled and incomplete give claims adjusters little to “hang their hats on” when requesting “authority” to put money on your claim. That’s when an insurance company may want extensive litigation if it’s looking for a big settlement. They will want to hear your testimony at a deposition and send it to their doctors for examination. Good quality medical reports will speed up a settlement.
SEVERITY OF INJURIES AND YOUR PERSONAL INJURY CASE
Assuming there is coverage, it will take time to reach an excellent settlement amount in a serious case. This is the kind of case where lengthy litigation can improve the final settlement. You want the insurance company to know that you are willing to go to court if they don’t get enough money. While most cases do eventually settle, in the case of very serious injuries, you will want to prepare the case for trial, including settling on the eve of trial. This can take years, but it’s worth it.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF CASES TAKE DIFFERENT AMOUNTS OF TIME
Car accident cases have a “serious injury threshold” that must be met. With smaller cases, it is important that there is at least enough treatment to reach this threshold, which often means treatment for a minimum of three months. Other types of cases do not have this threshold. For example, if you fall in a supermarket and go to the doctor and have a sprained ankle that heals quickly, your case could be resolved quickly. A case of food poisoning could be quick because there is little treatment once the problem is gone. Product liability and malpractice cases will always be time-consuming as experts must be hired and complicated investigations must be conducted.
INTANGIBLES THAT IMPACT THE DURATION OF A CASE
The insurance company denies payment for your surgery because it is not “medically necessary” and the doctor arbitrates this denial. It can take more than a year to get a decision. It is prudent to wait for the decision as surgery is an important part of the damages in your case and having an arbitration decision that was in fact medically necessary is important to your case.
The insurance company transfers your claim to a new claims representative who must now review your entire file from scratch. This can add months to the time it takes to resolve the case. The insurance adjuster is taking an extended vacation or family leave and there is no one to discuss your claim. Of course, the litigation can continue, but the case cannot be resolved unless there is a claims representative to discuss it with.
There are many reasons why cases take time to resolve. The most important thing to remember is that it is your attorney’s job to explain why YOUR case is taking the time it is. If you’re in the dark, you don’t have the right attorney. If your attorney cannot fully explain why your case is taking so long, consider changing your attorney.