After a serious car crash or catastrophic injury, many victims struggle with unpaid medical bills, lost income, and overwhelming stress related to finances. The insurance companies know how exhausting all this can be, which is why they use delay tactics that can stretch a personal injury claim out for years.
Fortunately, you don’t have to sit there and take it while the insurance company delays your claim again and again. Keep reading to learn how a lawyer may be able to resolve your case faster and improve your settlement results.
How Long Does the Average Texas Personal Injury Claim Take to Resolve?
Many Texas car accident and injury claims take years to resolve. While every case is different, several factors can impact a claim’s timeline.
Sometimes, crash victims require extensive medical care that delays their claims. And the insurance company will sometimes try to stall settlement negotiations with the hope that the victim will give up and accept a lowball offer.
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Even after filing a lawsuit, the formal discovery process can take anywhere from nine months to two years, especially in multi-party claims that involve more than one insurance company. During discovery, lawyers subpoena documents, prepare written interrogatories, and conduct depositions of witnesses. In many cases, thousands of pages of documents are exchanged, including medical records, crash reports, and expert witness opinions.
Finally, it takes time to schedule and complete a trial. Victims must follow a series of steps before the courts will even schedule a trial. This process typically involves pre-trial hearings, mediation, and settlement conferences. On average, many personal injury lawsuits take more than 18 months from the time of filing to their completion.
Can an Injury Lawyer Speed Up the Settlement Process?
An aggressive injury lawyer can sometimes accelerate the timeline of a personal injury case. While some delays are unavoidable, the discovery and settlement negotiation processes often involve many inefficiencies, and an experienced lawyer can work to cut down on them.
Insurance companies use a “war of attrition” mentality when they negotiate settlements with unrepresented crash victims. Rather than trying to win outright, the insurance company will simply try to wait you out and wear you down until you give up out of exhaustion, frustration, or both.
Unfortunately, insurance companies use this tactic because it often succeeds. The longer the company delays a victim’s settlement, the more precarious the victim’s financial situation tends to become. As victims become more desperate, they’re more likely to accept a low settlement offer that doesn’t adequately address their losses. And once you’ve settled your claim, you can’t go back and demand more compensation after you realize the settlement offer was unfair.
The injury lawyers at Crosley Law understand these tactics and use sophisticated techniques to counteract them. Building a strong personal injury claim and negotiating a fair settlement requires resources and dedication, and doing these things efficiently takes experience. We use the knowledge and expertise we’ve gained from years of handling complex injury claims to investigate our clients’ claims quickly and demand prompt compensation.
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Case Study: Settling a Multi-Party Commercial Driving Claim in Less than 18 Months
As an example of how our process can speed up a settlement, one of our clients was hit by a commercial driver in December and hired Crosley Law in February. The case was incredibly complicated, involving a negligent driver, failed corporate policies, and numerous insurance companies. By May, we had investigated the claim and were ready to file a lawsuit.
Between December and September of the following year, our litigation team pushed discovery forward. Our lawyers traveled across the country, deposing 23 witnesses and experts, obtaining and reviewing thousands of documents, and preparing the claim for trial.
Our team participated in mediation in September, and our clients agreed to a confidential multi-million dollar settlement. From filing the lawsuit to finalizing the settlement, the attorneys at Crosley Law secured compensation for our client in less than 18 months.
You Deserve Personalized Legal Strategies
While these results are impressive, they’re not a guarantee of any particular outcome or timeframe for results in your case. Our attorneys at Crosley Law know that every personal injury claim has unique strengths and challenges, which is why we don’t apply the same strategies and techniques in every claim.
Instead, we dig deep into each claim, learning about the client’s injuries, damages, priorities, and current situation. Then, we build a litigation plan that meets the client’s unique needs. Sometimes, this results in a quick settlement; other times, it requires a full jury trial. Regardless, we have the same end in mind: we want our clients to receive fair compensation for their losses and see that the people who injured them are held accountable, and we want to get there as efficiently as possible.
To read more about our approach to handling injury claims, review our library of stories from past clients.
Crosley Law: Dedicated and Experienced San Antonio Injury Lawyers
If you’re battling the insurance company after a crash or serious injury, Crosley Law is ready to listen to your story and advise you about your options at no cost to you. To schedule your free consultation with one of our attorneys, fill out our online contact form or call us at 210-LAW-3000|210-529-3000.
The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.
