Understanding How Long It May Take To Reach A Resolution or Settlement In Your Massachusetts Accident Case

Whether you were injured in a car crash, a slip and fall, or other type of accident, the time it takes to settle or resolve a personal injury case in Massachusetts varies depending on several factors. These factors are specific to each case. Some accident cases reach a resolution or settlement quicker than others. It all depends on many different aspects of each case.

As a rule of thumb, you wouldn’t want to settle your accident case until you fully recovered from the injuries you suffered. This way, you will be able to understand the full extent of your injuries and be able to ascertain the financial or economic losses you sustained. Remember, a settlement or recovery from a personal injury case encompasses compensation for medical bills and expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Thus, the timeline of a personal injury case will depend on your injuries and length of treatment.

As a general guide, however, the following are some aspects of a personal injury case that will help you understand and gauge the length of time it may take to reach a settlement in your case:

Complexity of the Case

In relatively straight forward cases, such as a rear-end crash with minor injuries, if liability is clear and the injuries are not too serious, a settlement could be reached within a few months to a year. Again, this all depends on the length of time it takes to recover from your injuries.

In more complex cases, however, if there are disputes about liability (who caused the accident), severe injuries, or multifaceted medical issues, it could take a year or more to reach a settlement or resolution.

Severity of Injuries

Settlements often aren’t reached until the injured party reaches a medical end result or a maximum medical improvement (MMI). This is considered the point in time at which an accident victim’s medical condition is considered stable and future medical needs can be assessed. If recovery takes a long time, the case may take longer. This is important so the damages (i.e., medical expenses, lost wages, etc…) can be determined.

Insurance Company Negotiations

Some insurance companies offer injury settlements in Massachusetts quickly. But this is typically to try to minimize payouts. If your goal is to obtain a fair settlement amount, negotiations can extend the time it takes to reach a settlement. During the negotiations process, an experienced personal injury attorney may need to gather additional evidence and other information to negotiate and advocate for a fair settlement. For example, in some cases, a medical narrative report from a medical expert may be required to explain the cause, severity, and impact of the injuries. This may increase the time it will take to resolve your case.

Lawsuit and Litigation

If a fair settlement isn’t reached or the insurance company disputes liability in your case, it may be necessary to file a Massachusetts personal injury lawsuit. Taking your case to court often adds a significant amount of time to the process. Factors like court schedules, the discovery process, and pre-trial motions frequently require much more time to reach a favorable resolution in a personal injury case.

Case Type

The type of case you have will also determine the length of time it takes to reach a resolution. For example, cases involving multiple parties (such as multi-vehicle accidents) or construction accidents may take longer because they involve more evidence and legal complexities. When multiple parties are involved, it may be more difficult to establish who was negligent and the cause of the accident and your injuries. Also, in these types of cases, insurance companies routinely blame other parties leading to delays in reaching a settlement.

Willingness to Settle

Of course, if both the parties and insurance companies involved are eager to resolve the case, it might settle quickly. However, if there are significant disagreements, it could take much longer to reach a settlement.

Insurance Policy Limits

In some cases, if the bodily injury limits are minimal considering the extent of the injuries, a personal injury case may be resolved sooner rather than later. It also may be in the injured parties’ best interests to settle quicker in these circumstances as a quicker settlement may result in more net proceeds of the settlement going to the injured party.

For example, in a recent case our Framingham personal injury attorneys handled, our client was seriously injured in a T-bone style accident in Worcester, Massachusetts. Our client suffered a fractured pelvis, which required surgery. The vehicle that struck our client had an auto insurance policy that carried $250,000 in bodily injury coverage. Since our client’s injuries and medical bills were substantial, it was sensible to expedite settlement negotiations before the liens (i.e., medical bill and/or health insurance lien) got too high. Remember, in most injury cases, you may have to reimburse your health insurance company for the medical bills they paid. Paying a health insurance lien will result in less proceeds of the settlement going to the injured party.  In that case, we were able to recover the full bodily injury limits of $250,000 before the liens got too high, which resulted in more money to our client.

Having Expert Legal Representation May Result in a Quicker Settlement

Having an experienced Massachusetts personal injury attorney can expedite the process in reaching a settlement. An experienced injury lawyer will know how to gather all the evidence and documents needed, navigate the insurance claim process, prepare and present a demand for settlement, and proceed through the negotiations process. This will, undoubtedly, avoid unnecessary delays and advance the injury case process.