The duration of any personal injury lawsuit is going to vary based on the case. It’s unfortunately not useful or accurate to give a blanket answer about how long these kinds of lawsuits take.
Personal injury cases that get settled out of court might conclude within 6 to 12 months after the initial complaint being filed. However, many personal injury lawsuits wind up taking several years to get fully settled.
If you personally think that you can file a personal injury claim of your own, then you might be not only curious about how long it takes but also what all is involved in a normal case.
First, in the event of an accident that leaves you injured, you must get medical treatment. If you’re hurt and need immediate medical attention where you are, call 911 for an ambulance or emergency medical services. If not, get to a hospital or see your doctor. Above all else, this is the best thing that you can do for yourself and your health.
For that matter though, if you fail to see a doctor or just wait a while after the accident, then a jury or insurance adjuster is just going to assume that you didn’t get hurt at all or just not that much.
Once your immediate medical needs are taken care of, then you need to pick a lawyer if your claim is anything more than minor. Pick an attorney as soon as you can after the injury. Smaller claims might be something that you can handle on your own, although attorneys can still be useful even in cases like these. However, if you have suffered a substantial injury or any other significant losses, then you absolutely need to have legal representation for any particular personal injury claim that you try and pursue.
How can you tell the difference between a minor claim that doesn’t require an attorney and a bigger one that does? General guidelines separating these include medical bills more than several thousand dollars, broken bones, or missing more than several days of work.
Talk to numerous lawyers on the phone and meet the ones you like in person. Once you pick one, sign a fee agreement so they can start getting to work on your case.
Once on the case, your lawyer will get to work learning all they can about the accident, your injury, and the bills and lifestyle consequences you face as a result. They will use all this to formulate a lawsuit to file against the assumed at-fault party.
This can sometimes lead to negotiations for a settlement, and offers are common, although early settlements are often known as ‘short money’ and only worth a third of what you might get out of a verdict.
The discovery phase of a lawsuit can take from 6 to 12 months in many jurisdictions before things every get in front of a jury, although the pending outcome of a trial is known to open a second window into a negotiated settlement.
If you have been involved in a serious accident, or have questions about how long a typical personal injury law suit can take.
Lakota Denton has years of experience with North Carolina personal injury law, and has helped many people who have been involved in serious car accidents and other motor vehicle accidents. Download the firms free personal injury guide which can answer many of the typical personal injury related questions you might have.
