When you’ve suffered an injury due to an accident or negligence, of course you want it to be dealt with as swiftly as possible. No one wants to be dealing with a long, drawn out legal battle. Your PI attorneys know that, and they’ll be working hard to make sure that you get the settlement you need as soon as possible.
Here’s a quick breakdown of how your claim will proceed, and what can delay your settlement.
How a personal injury claim works
In the first instance, you will approach a personal injury law firm Fort Lauderdale with the case you have in mind. In your meeting with them, they will examine the case and let you know if they think you can win a settlement from the other party.
If you can, they will then begin to gather evidence. Once they have it, they’ll get in contact with the defendant to lay it out for them. If the defendant admits liability, the case can be very straightforward. They’ll offer a settlement, and if it’s acceptable, you can accept it and close the case.
If they don’t admit liability, the case can go to court. Your PI lawyers will work to prove your case and get you the settlement you deserve.
What can delay your claim
There are a few things that can make the claim process take longer than normal:
– Waiting for full medical recovery: personal injury lawyers Fort Lauderdale will advise you to wait until you’ve recovered as fully as you can before making your claim. This is because if you wait, you’ll be able to claim for the maximum of your expenses. This includes your medical bills, travel expenses, and loss of earnings as you’ve recovered. If you settle earlier, you won’t be able to claim for expenses that occur further down the road.
– The complexity of the claim: As a very general rule, the more complex your injuries, the longer it will take to settle your case. This is because it takes longer to gather the medical evidence needed to prove your case. As well as this, the defendant may well gather their own medical team, in order to provide their own opinion on your injuries. There’s no real way to say just how long this will take, as it will depend on the extent of your injuries and how long it will take you to recover.
– Proving liability: In the most straightforward cases, the defendant will admit liability, and the case can be resolved out of court. If this doesn’t happen though, it can have an impact on how long it will take to reach an agreement. If the case has to be taken to court, it will take time gather evidence, such as camera footage, witness statements, or review documents. Your pi attorneys Fort Lauderdale will work to make the process as quick as possible, though.
– Settlement negotiations: Once liability has been proven, your lawyers will then need to negotiate the amount you’ll get in your settlement with the defendant. This will depend on the costs that have been incurred since your injury. This could be loss of earnings, medical bills or otherwise.
What if you want to settle now?
If you’re in the middle of a personal injury claim, you may want to get it settled sooner rather than later. This could be because you don’t want to spend a long time going through the courts, or you don’t want to have to fight the defendant to get what you need. You may also need the money to cover your expenses sooner than they can be made available to you.
You do have options if this is the case. Ask your pi law firm Fort Lauderdale if they can ask for interim payments. These payments are essentially advances on your eventual settlement, so you can start paying off your expenses before the claim has actually been resolved.
Otherwise, you can choose to settle early for a lesser sum than you would get if you saw the case through. You won’t get the full amount you are entitled to, but you’ll be able to end the case more quickly and get money to start paying your expenses much sooner. It’s not the most ideal option, but in some cases it can be the best way to move forward.
Deciding to go through with a personal injury claim is never an easy choice. You don’t want to have to face the courts, but you need the money involved to offset the losses you’ve endured since your injury. Of course, you don’t want it to go on for longer than it needs to. If you hire us here at Florida Injury Lawyers, we’ll make sure it doesn’t go on for a second longer than it needs to.