Car accidents are one of the most common types of personal injury claims filed in the State of Texas. If you need to file a claim after being involved in a Laredo motor vehicle collision, you may wonder how long your lawsuit will take to reach a settlement or judgment award. The answer to this question depends on your specific case.
Average Settlement: Three to Six Months
It is difficult to estimate how long your individual Laredo injury claim will take to settle without speaking to an attorney about your specific case in more depth. Every case is unique. Yours may have certain factors that are likely to extend its timeline, such as serious injuries or a liability dispute.
If you have a relatively straightforward car insurance claim with minor to no injuries, however, you can generally expect it to take around three to six months. This is the average amount of time that it takes for a car insurance company in Texas to receive a claim, investigate, accept or deny liability, and issue a settlement check on an approved claim.
A Complex Claim: Several Months to One Year
There are many reasons why a car accident case in Texas may take longer than average to settle. One of the most common is a severe injury. If a victim is badly injured, it will take him or her longer to recover or reach the point of maximum medical improvement. This will lengthen the settlement timeline, as the victim will need more time to fully understand the injuries and their long-term consequences.
Other car accident case complications that can add time to a settlement include multiple at-fault parties, a liability dispute, the comparative negligence defense, a wrongfully rejected claim, an uncooperative insurance company, and insurance bad faith. These issues could extend the average settlement timeline by a few months up to one year or longer.
A Car Accident Trial: At Least One Year
Most car accident claims in Texas achieve out-of-court settlements. Both parties typically want to avoid going to trial, as this can take more time and money. However, there are circumstances where a settlement cannot be reached, and in an injury case in Texas must go to court.
If an insurance company has rejected your claim or is refusing to offer a fair settlement, it may take a court trial to achieve a positive outcome. You can expect a car accident trial in Texas to take one to two years or longer, depending on the circumstances.
The complexity of the car accident case, the length of the discovery phase, and the schedule at the local county courthouse can all play a role in how long a trial takes.
What Can I Do to Speed Up My Car Accident Settlement?
Enable your car accident claim to go as smoothly and efficiently as possible by hiring a car accident lawyer to represent you early on. Having a law firm go over your claim will put you in a more powerful negotiating position. This can lead to achieving a fair settlement faster.
Gonzalez Druker Law Firm has the personnel, resources, and legal experience to speed up your claim as much as possible without sacrificing settlement value. A Laredo motorcycle accident lawyer can set a trial date, for instance, which often motivates car insurance companies to come to settlements.
Don’t Rush Your Car Accident Settlement in Texas
While it is reasonable to want your car accident claim to settle as quickly as possible so that you can move on with your life, it is critical not to rush the settlement process in a way that risks your financial future.
Insurance companies understand the pressure that claimants are facing. They use this to their advantage to try to convince them to quickly accept the first settlement offered. Do not fall for this tactic. Initial settlements are often set much lower than the client deserves.
Rather than accepting immediately, contact our car accident attorney in Texas for review. While this could make your case take longer, it can also result in the financial compensation you deserve for a serious car accident in Texas.