Some personal injury lawsuits are wrapped up quickly, with the insurance company paying up without a fight, but these are rare. When a lawsuit drags on and on, it is often compared to “Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce,” a lawsuit featured as part of the plot of Charles Dickens’ novel Bleak House that continues for nearly a lifetime, for no apparent reason. In the case of a modern-day personal injury lawsuit that seems interminable, we can identify the reasons for delays that seem to be built into the legal process.
- Generally, the more severe and complex the injury, the longer it will take to analyze your medical records and settle the case.
- Often, overloaded court dockets mean delays until a court can schedule a time to hear a case. The time you have to wait will depend on how many cases are already backed up in your jurisdiction’s system.
According to a legal editor writing on quora.com, your “case lives and dies by your patience. How long are you willing to wait? The defendant will do whatever he can to drag out the case, and you have to be ready for that. He might try to bury you in paperwork, reschedule court dates or schedule multiple motions.”
You may not have to wait to go to court at all. Most personal injury cases settle before going to court. Your attorney will negotiate the best agreement possible on your behalf. But if you do have to go to trial, there are typically several steps involved in the process, each with its own opportunities for drawing out the timeline. Starting from the moment of the vehicle crash that causes your injury, they are:
- Get medical treatment
- Choose an experienced personal injury attorney
- Attorney determines whether you have a case
- Attorney files the lawsuit, after which it generally takes one to two years to go to trial
- The discovery process begins
- Negotiation (and mediation when necessary)
- Settlement
- Trial begins if no settlement is reached, or if defendant refuses to settle.
Some good advice: “Be patient, and be ready for anything,” advises quora.com. “As awful as it sounds, “personal injury law is a game, …and the best players are the ones who last the longest.”
Richard Manger, principal of Manger Law Firm, has extensive experience in litigation and settlements, with a focus on personal injury and workers’ compensation law. We are proud of the strong relationships of loyalty and trust we develop with our clients. We go above and beyond to achieve the best possible outcome in your case. You can contact Richard Manger via email at ram@mangerlaw.com, or by calling (336) 882-2000.
