Why a Personal Injury Settlement Might Take a Long Time
Although some lawsuits that involve personal injuries might be settled quickly, other personal injury settlements can take quite a long time, perhaps even a year or more before reaching settlement. That's because cases that involve personal injuries and accidents are quite different from one another.
Before you worry about a personal injury lawsuit taking a lot longer than you anticipated you should know a bit more about these types of lawsuits so that you can have a better feeling for what to expect.
How Personal Injury Lawyers Get Paid
Most personal injury attorneys take their cases on a contingency basis. This means that the attorney will only get paid when and if you, the client, gets paid.
If you're concerned about how long it's taking to resolve your case, keep in mind that your attorney will not get paid for all of the time and expenses involved with your case unless you are paid.
When you consider this, you'll probably agree that there's a pretty good chance that your lawyer would like to get paid just as quickly as you want to get paid.
In addition, because attorneys receive a set percentage of the settlement or award, it is in their best interest to get the most that they can for you.
It Takes Time to Evaluate an Injury
Unlike determining damages for other types of cases, evaluating the damage caused by a personal injury is not an exact science.
Whereas it is very easy to calculate the damages if you shipped your products to a vendor who doesn't pay you (it's the amount that you billed on your invoice), it could take time to fully diagnose the severity of an injury.
It can actually take months before medical professionals will say with a reasonable amount of certainty that a personal injury is permanent.
Realize that you only have one chance to have your injury evaluated and be compensated for it. Therefore, it is very important that you give the medical professionals the time that they need to properly evaluate your situation.
The Insurance Company's First Offer Is Not Their Best Offer
Even if you are getting impatient, you need to know that the first offer that an insurance company makes will rarely, if ever, be their best offer. Insurance companies know that you are feeling anxious and impatient about resolving your case. They've been through the process thousands of times, and they will take advantage of that. The less they have to pay the more profit they will make.
The golden rule concerning a personal injury settlement is that you should never, ever, take the first offer. If you exhibit a little more patience you may very well receive a lot more money.
In this case, patience is really a virtue. And it can put a lot more money into your pockets.
About the Author
Next, to find out more about a personal injury settlement go to http://www.sokolovelaw.com/
Wendy Moyer on behalf of Sokolove Law.
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