How Long Will My Injury Claim Take?

how long does injury claim take

After you suffer any type of injury that is covered by an insurance policy, one of the most important steps for you to take is to submit a claim to the insurance company, whether your own or the responsible party’s insurance company, in order to be compensated for the damages that you incur. The wait can be excruciating between when you initiate your claim and when you finally receive compensation, but even this initial claims investigation may not be the entire time that you will need to wait in order to get the money you are entitled to.

Insurance companies have policies that are intended to financially protect their clients from liability in the event of certain types of accidents and injuries, but it is important to remember that insurance companies do not purely exist to give money away – they must focus on limiting payments as much as possible in order to protect their own financial interests. This means that when they do conclude your initial injury claim investigation, the amount of money they will likely offer to you is nowhere near the amount you actually deserve. In exchange for this inadequate amount of money, they will require that you waive all future rights to legal action, as well.

Realistically, this also means that the question of how long your injury claim may take is not the right question; instead, you should be asking how long it will take to get the money that you are truly entitled to once you initiate your claim. And for that answer, you will be best served by working with proven personal injury lawyers like Yulric Abercrombie. When you hire aggressive legal representation, you can be confident that your claim will be settled with expediency, but with additional focus on justice and fairness, and not just speed.

Understanding the Statute of Limitations

In order to get a better idea of the constraints that your claim is subject to, one of the first things to look at is the California Statute of Limitations for personal injuries. In most personal injury cases, the statute of limitations is two years from the date of the accident and injury. In some instances, your injuries may take longer to recognize, at which point you may be able to request an extension given the circumstances. This may seem like a long time, but it is important that you file your claim as soon as possible after your accident.

The statute of limitations will give you and your personal injury attorney a clear boundary for the amount of time that you can negotiate with the insurance company or defendant directly, after which point you will need to file a lawsuit. If you are unable to reach a negotiated settlement agreement before the statute of limitations expires, you will need to file a lawsuit in order to continue to have legal rights to compensation; otherwise, you lose any ability to seek compensation once the statute has expired.

Settlement or Lawsuit?

Many people incorrectly believe that hiring an attorney for a personal injury claim means that they will need to go to court, but a significant number of personal injury claims are settled before an official lawsuit is even filed. The most important step that you can take in order to expedite your claim and ensure that you get the compensation that you deserve in a reasonable amount of time is to hire a lawyer immediately; preferably, you should hire a lawyer before even initiating your claim. This will give you an advantage every step of the way and will get you the money you deserve as quickly as possible. 

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Posted - 04/21/2020