Personal Injury Cases: I Have to Wait How Long?
People like to plan. When something unexpected occurs, the first question you have centers around when: when will life get back to normal? When you’ve been in an accident and intend to make a personal injury claim, it makes sense that you would want to know how long the case will take. Unfortunately, just like every accident is different, every case requires different considerations.
The short side: Two major factors determine if your case will be short and snappy (a matter of a month or two). First, do you know the extent of your injury and losses? If you have a clear idea of what went wrong and a definite path regarding how your accident led to any and all losses, you’re well on your way to a quick case. However, another factor is also important: Is liability also undisputed? If all parties in the accident agree on where fault lies, you could be in for a short settlement.
The long side: Unfortunately, many cases do not lead to such a fast verdict, and some can take years to resolve. Part of this has to do with the nature of health and healing: the extent of some injuries is simply unable to be determined for a while, sometimes a year or more. If you push to settle before you know your injury for sure, you cannot go back to push for a larger settlement. But even if you know the extent of your losses, the other aspects of a personal injury case can drag on and on.
You need to gather all relevant paperwork regarding your losses; to file the lawsuit; to go through “discovery”, wherein you investigate the other side’s case; to undergo depositions, in which you are questioned; to have any necessary pre-trial motions, settlement conferences, and mediation; and finally, there’s the trial itself—which can take up to six months to be scheduled. Are you done after that? Not necessarily: there’s always the option for more appeals and motions.
If you’re ready to commit to the potentially lengthy trial process, make sure you have an experienced Provo personal injury attorney on your side. Contact the attorneys at Howard, Lewis & Peterson today. Jake Gunter has nearly 20 years in a courtroom helping people.
