Nobody could say for certain exactly how long your personal injury case will take because there are a lot of things that can affect it. In many cases, personal injury cases only last a couple weeks, though there are some that have gone as long as a couple years. If you are worried about your case, it’s best to talk to a personal injury lawyer so you can go over the specifics and come up with a possible timeline. The following are some things that could affect the amount of time your case takes.
Ongoing Medical Treatment
In a case in which the plaintiff has soft injuries, there typically isn’t any ongoing medical treatment, thus, these cases are generally shorter in length. If your injury is considered a hard injury requiring ongoing medical treatment, it could prolong the case. Perhaps you have to see a surgeon or specialist before your lawyer feels confident filing the lawsuit. Or maybe your doctor recommends some type of therapy to see if the issue can be resolved in a shorter amount of time. All of these types of issues can stall a personal injury case.
Factual Problems
If, during the course of your case, a conflict arises based on whether the claim was factual or not, the case could last a lot longer. The court might need to investigate further to determine whether the facts were correct. Treatment notes, traffic accident reports, medical bills, photographs of the scene, and other types of information would be looked at closely. If the case is strictly factual from the very beginning, it may not last as long.
Large Amounts of Money
If your case revolves around very large amounts of money, the defendant may be more inclined to put up a bigger fight. If your injuries require extensive medical care and have permanent effects that will last long into your life, those costs could continue to get higher and higher. The defendant may work hard to lessen that amount before the case is settled.
Going to Court
Some lawsuits are easily settled outside of court. If that is your situation, it may not take as long to finalize. If your situation requires going to court, the whole case could last longer.
Contacting a Lawyer Today
After a personal injury, it’s important you have someone by your side. Contact a personal injury lawyer, like a personal injury lawyer in Bloomington, IL, to learn more about how long your case might take.
Thanks to Pioletti Pioletti & Nichols Attorneys at Law for their insight into how long a personal injury case may take.