If you've been injured due to someone else's negligence and have filed a personal injury claim to recover damages, the waiting game can sometimes feel unbearable. Bills pile up, wages may be lost, and the physical and emotional toll can weigh heavily on you and your family.
During this time, it's normal to feel frustrated and impatient, especially when you're urgently waiting for the compensation you need to begin rebuilding your life. However, it's crucial to remember that patience is a key virtue in these situations.
The legal process can be complex and time-consuming, but maintaining patience can help manage your expectations and reduce your frustration.
While plaintiffs' lawyers generally want to settle a case quickly to ensure their clients receive the compensation they deserve, there are several common reasons why a personal injury case can take a considerable amount of time to settle.
For example, the medical treatment may still be ongoing, or further investigation of the case may result in an increased settlement. Perhaps there are still factual or legal issues to resolve, the court is backlogged, or the defendant is delaying the process.
While delays are understandably frustrating, they are often tied to specific factors inherent to the legal process. Understanding these reasons can provide clarity and reassurance, even as the wait continues.
Here are some common reasons why personal injury claims in California may take longer than expected.
Gathering Evidence Takes Time
Thorough documentation, such as medical records, police reports, witness statements, and surveillance footage, is essential in any personal injury claim. This comprehensive approach ensures that your claim is strong and can withstand any challenges.
However, obtaining these pieces of evidence can sometimes be a slow process, as hospitals and clinics often have backlogs, and securing witness cooperation can be challenging.
Medical records, for example, can be notoriously slow to obtain. Hospitals and clinics often have backlogs and may require written requests, as well as follow-up reminders to ensure timely attention.
Similarly, witness cooperation can sometimes delay proceedings if individuals are difficult to locate or hesitant to participate. Without these crucial details, moving the case forward is impossible. The involved parties must ensure that every piece of evidence aligns to present your case effectively.
Medical Treatment Is Still Ongoing
If you have suffered serious injuries but have not reached maximum medical improvement, you may still have future medical bills. The amount of these future expenses is always uncertain.
Suppose your lawyer settles a personal injury case, and your condition does not improve the way it was expected. In that case, the settlement will not cover those additional expenses for future medical treatment.
This is typically why personal injury claims involving severe and long-term injuries take longer to resolve. These are also the cases where victims build up significant medical expenses and feel financial pressure to settle the case.
It should be noted that it also takes a long time to get your medical records certified, which is necessary for the court to deem them an authentic record of your medical history. Even obtaining copies of your medical records from your provider can take some time, depending on the responsiveness of their office.
Determining Full Extent of Damages
Compensation in a personal injury case is not just about reimbursing immediate medical bills. It also includes less obvious but equally significant factors, such as:
- Ongoing medical care,
- Lost earning potential,
- Emotional distress, and
- Diminished quality of life.
To accurately calculate these damages, your attorney may sometimes wait to resolve the claim until you've reached maximum medical improvement (MMI). Reaching MMI means you've recovered as much as possible, given your injuries.
Rushing a settlement before this point could lead to undervaluing your claim because future costs and complications might not yet be clear. This approach can increase your settlement in the long run, but can add months to the timeline while medical evaluations and expert assessments are completed. Understanding this concept can help you manage your expectations and reduce your frustration during the waiting period.
Increasing the Settlement
Your personal injury lawyer may deliberately delay a settlement in order to procure evidence that can increase the value of the case. That evidence can show the extent of your losses or who was responsible for the accident. For example, it could include the following:
- Getting testimony from various experts,
- Getting a vocational expert to show the extent of your financial losses, or
- Locating an eyewitness to the accident.
Personal injury attorneys may also delay a settlement if a similar case is pending in court. If the outcome of that other case could increase the value of your claim, it may be wise to delay the settlement discussions.
Insurance Company Negotiations
Insurance companies frequently play a significant role in extending the duration of personal injury claims. Adjusters and insurers are incentivized to pay as little as possible, and they may:
- Dispute liability,
- Question the severity of your injuries, or
- Claim that your damages are exaggerated.
Negotiating a fair settlement often requires multiple rounds of offers and counteroffers, thorough explanations, and, at times, expert testimony to support your case.
If the insurance company cannot agree to reasonable terms, your attorney may need to prepare for litigation, which brings an entirely new set of procedures and potential delays. While prompt resolutions are ideal, settling too quickly can mean leaving substantial compensation on the table.
Complexity of Liability Disputes
Some personal injury claims involve straightforward cases of negligence, but others are far more complicated. Multi-vehicle accidents, injuries at construction sites, medical malpractice, or incidents involving several defendants can lead to disagreements over liability. If multiple parties are involved, each with their own legal representation and insurance carriers, the question of who is at fault and to what degree can take considerable time to resolve.
California also follows a system of pure comparative negligence, which means that your compensation could be reduced if you are found partially responsible for the accident. This adds a layer of complexity to determining accountability and can contribute to longer negotiations or trials.
Court's Legal Backlogs
If negotiations fail and your case proceeds to court, external factors such as the judicial system's scheduling can further prolong the resolution process. Courts in California are often overwhelmed, particularly in urban areas like Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Cases are scheduled based on the court's docket, and personal injury claims may face delays due to higher-priority cases, such as criminal trials or child custody disputes.
Additionally, the discovery phase, during which both sides exchange evidence, can take several months to complete. This phase is crucial for ensuring each side has full access to the facts, but it undoubtedly lengthens the time to reach a final decision.
The Defendant Delays the Process
There are many ways for defendants to prolong the process. Some of them use these strategies to prolong the case as long as possible, such as requesting multiple extensions, filing numerous motions, or engaging in tactics to discredit your claim.
These defendants use financial pressure by refusing to settle quickly. As time passes, you need the proceeds from the settlement more and more. You become eager to settle and more willing to lower your expectations and accept a smaller amount. Defendants can do this by the following tactics:
- Making it difficult to serve them with the lawsuit,
- Moving their assets into companies that are not a part of the lawsuit,
- Giving their assets to friends or family members,
- Filing many frivolous claims and defenses,
- Refusal to comply with discovery requests, or
- Postponing meetings or important events, like depositions.
How Long Does a PI Lawsuit Take?
Typically, a personal injury case takes anywhere from a few months to several years to resolve. Some settle very quickly if you accept the insurance company's initial settlement offer. It can also occur if your injuries are not severe, you have already reached maximum medical improvement (MMI), and there is no doubt that the defendant was liable for the accident.
Other PI cases take much longer. Suppose a defendant is paying the recovery out of their pocket. In that case, they are less likely to settle and hope for a verdict in their favor.
If your injuries were severe or if they cause a lasting disability, the case will likely take much longer. If an appeal is made from the case, it can substantially increase the timeframe.
Personal Injury Claims Process
After the accident, you will typically receive medical attention. Within a few weeks, an insurance adjuster from the defendant's insurer will approach you and make an initial settlement offer.
This offer is designed and timed to appear as if it will adequately cover your losses. However, what it really does is underpay you in order to protect the insurance company's bottom line.
If you accept the initial settlement offer, you will also have to sign a waiver that releases the insurance company from future legal action over the accident, which will end the personal injury lawsuit process.
Demand Letter
Suppose you do not accept the initial settlement offer. In that case, the next step is to prepare and send a demand letter, which includes the following:
- Details what happened in the accident,
- Describe your injuries,
- State who was at fault for your injuries,
- Demands an amount of compensation to cover injuries,
- Informs the defendant of your intent to file a personal injury lawsuit if the demand is not met within a certain amount of time.
The demand letter is usually sent to the person who caused the accident, their employer if the person was on the job at the time of the accident, and their insurance company, usually the auto insurance company, after a car accident.
The defendant can respond to the demand letter by paying the amount demanded, making a counteroffer to settle the case for a lesser amount, or refusing the demand outright.
Filing the PI Lawsuit
If you are not satisfied with the defendant's response, you can file the complaint. The complaint initiates a personal injury lawsuit, which is filed in court and served on the defendant. It tells your story, reiterates the demand for compensation, and explains why the defendant should be made to pay it.
The defendant then files an answer to the complaint. In the answer, the defendant responds to every allegation in the complaint by either admitting it, denying it, or stating that there is insufficient information to admit or deny it.
Next, both sides engage in the discovery process. This is when your lawyer and the defense team investigate the case and gather evidence. This can include the following:
- Police reports,
- Eyewitness statements,
- Medical records from your healthcare providers,
- Depositions and interrogatories.
The evidence that each side uncovers will give them a much better idea of how much, or whether, you deserve to be compensated. As evidence is gathered, it will often initiate the negotiation of personal injury settlements.
How an Attorney Can Help
Delays in personal injury claims are sometimes unavoidable, but a skilled California personal injury attorney can work proactively to prevent unnecessary setbacks.
An experienced lawyer understands California's legal system and can guide you confidently through each stage, addressing disputes promptly and advocating aggressively on your behalf when necessary.
While no one can predict how long a claim will take, having a knowledgeable and compassionate attorney provides stability and reassurance, making the process more manageable as you focus on your recovery and justice. For more information, contact the Injury Justice Law Firm, based in Los Angeles, CA.
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