How Long Will It Take To Get My Settlement?

If you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence in Atlanta or the greater Georgia area, you may be eager to get your settlement so that you can start regaining control of your life, paying down your medical debt, and affording other necessary treatments and therapies. Personal injuries can be absolutely catastrophic, both physically and financially, and it makes sense that you would need to know how long it will be until you can get financial relief. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to guarantee with any certainty how long it will take for you to receive a settlement on your claim. However, there are a number of factors that you can use to estimate how long it will take. In this article, we will explore and examine these factors. If you would like specific legal feedback on your claim and to get a better sense of the most likely timeline in your case, the best thing you can do is speak to a Sandy Springs personal injury attorney. If you would like personalized feedback from an experienced attorney, contact Hawkins Spizman Trial Lawyers to schedule your free consultation.

Factors that Can Impact Your Settlement Timeline

First of all, it’s important to understand that just because you file an insurance claim or bring a personal injury lawsuit, it does not guarantee that you will receive a settlement. If the insurance company or responsible party does not choose to offer a settlement prior to trial then it will be left to a judge or jury to determine whether you will receive a damages award and how much it will be. We can break down the timeline a bit, though. For instance, an insurance company must take action to either accept or reject your claim within 30 days. If they fail to, you can bring legal action. If they deny your claim, you can appeal it. In a straight-forward settlement negotiation, you may be able to receive your full settlement within a matter of weeks or months. The fastest settlement distributions occur in cases that do not go to trial and that wrap negotiations very quickly. For instance, you may bring a claim only to have a lawyer receive a call from the opposing party asking how much you would be willing to settle the case for. After you have determined your settlement number, if it is offered and you accept, the case will be settled. As you can see, in some circumstances this may be a very expeditious process. However, if negotiations break down, there is insufficient evidence supporting your claim, or the insurance company believes they will prevail in court, a settlement offer is unlikely and you may have to take your chances in court. If a case goes to court, it may take at least one to two years until the process is resolved. A lawyer can walk you through the settlement process to give you a sense of what happens at each stage and of your legal options at each one. A lawyer can also ensure that any settlement offers made are fair and reasonable, and will ensure that you do not accept an offer that is too low to adequately compensate you for your injury.

Schedule a Consultation

If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault in Atlanta, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Cobb County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, Johns Creek, Sandy Springs, or the greater Georgia area, contact Hawkins Spizman Trial Lawyers to schedule a free consultation.