Many injury accident victims wonder, “Why is my car accident settlement taking so long?”
Multiple factors can affect the timeline of a car accident settlement, including the severity of your injuries, investigating the collision, negotiating with the insurance company, and determining liability. Understandably, injured car accident victims might feel frustrated while waiting to receive a fair settlement offer.
In every car accident case involving injuries, an early step that your lawyer must complete is determining how much money to demand. Your lawyer will likely contact your doctor and ask when you might reach maximum medical improvement. This is when your doctor determines that your overall condition will not improve any further despite additional treatment.
To get a fair settlement, it’s important to know what your medical bills are. You will either need to reach maximum medical improvement or bet at a point in your recovery that your future medical care requirements can be calculated. Determining the costs of your past and future anticipated medical bills is a critical step for figuring out how much to demand.
Determining liability and proving that the other driver was negligent can be more difficult in some car accident cases than others. If you were partially at fault, this could make the liability determination more difficult in Massachusetts because of the state’s comparative negligence law. Under Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 231, § 85, Massachusetts follows a modified comparative negligence rule. Under this law, you can’t recover compensation for your losses if your percentage of fault is 51 percent or greater. If there is an issue with determining whether you or the other driver shared a greater portion of the fault, the settlement process could take longer.
If there were eyewitnesses to your collision, your lawyer will need to contact and interview them. The other driver’s insurance company will also likely contact and interview the eyewitnesses in your case. The process of finding and interviewing everyone involved can take a few months.
If your injuries were severe, there might be a significant amount of money on the line. Insurance companies tend to drag things out when the potential size of a claim is large. The insurance company will investigate the case to try to find anything that can be used to devalue the claim. Working with an experienced car accident lawyer can be helpful since the attorney will understand the tactics insurance companies commonly use and handle the communications with them.
Complex cases might take so long that the deadline for filing a claim becomes an issue. Under Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 260, § 2A, you have three years to file a lawsuit following the accident that injured you. If the insurance company has dragged things out for a long time, it might be necessary to file a lawsuit in court and litigate the matter. A case that has to go through the court process will take longer than one that is settled outside of court.
Many factors can affect how long it might take to settle your car accident case. An attorney at Ellis & Associates can help fight for you to recover the financial compensation you deserve and keep you apprised of everything that happens during the process. To learn more about your potential rights, contact us today for a free case evaluation by calling 800-MR-ELLIS or sending us a message online.
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