Why Is My Personal Injury Case Taking So Long?
One of the most common questions personal injury attorneys usually get is “How long will my case take?” However, the answer to that question varies depending on a number of uncontrollable factors. Below, we list a number of possible reasons your case could be stalling.
Legal Difficulties
While it might seem a simple enough case for you, no insurance company really wants to pay a claim (particularly if it’s likely to be a high amount). In more complicated cases, liability might be hard to prove. In cases such as these, an insurance company will not want to offer a reasonable settlement until the plaintiff’s legal team has filed a lawsuit and employed liability experts to show the defendant was at fault. Other times, insurance companies will refuse to pay you at all, because they believe you don’t have the right to sue.
If there is a problem with proving damages, this could also be what is taking so long. Sometimes physicians who treated the plaintiff are unsure whether the injuries were caused by the defendant’s negligence. The plaintiff’s legal team will then need to search for a doctor who will be willing to testify to the damage based on medical evidence.
Compensation Amount
The more compensation you are likely to get, the more the company will try to drag on the proceedings. They usually do this to make you waste your resources, in the hopes you will give up and settle for a smaller amount. Before they pay a huge sum, they will need to investigate every aspect of the case, including liability and damages. This could take a significant amount of time as they look at the medical evidence, your credibility, and their own potential defense.
Maximum Medical Improvement
Sometimes the case will take longer as you recover from your injuries. Maximum medical improvement (MMI) means you’ve recovered as much as possible from your injuries and require no other medical treatment. Sometimes the case will be delayed until this point to determine how much your total medical bills will contribute to your compensation amount.
If you’ve been injured are considering filing a claim or a lawsuit, make sure you have an experienced Portland personal injury lawyer on your side. Our founding attorney, Timothy Grabe, takes on big insurance companies in an effort to help people get the compensation they deserve. He used to be an insurance company representative earlier in his career, so he understands how their legal defense works. Our firm also makes every effort to meet our clients’ needs. If you are unable to make our regular business hours, or you’re having trouble traveling to our office in Portland, Attorney Grabe is happy to meet with you on the weekend, in the evening, or even outside the office. We also work on a contingency fee basis, which means we don’t get paid unless you do. To get your case started, contact us at 971-645-7176 or fill out our online form to schedule an initial case consultation today.
