What can I do to speed up my personal injury case?

What does "pending" mean?

This question depends on why your case is stalled. I advise my clients to wait to settle a personal injury case until they are medically stationary. This doesn't necessarily mean that you are completely healed. It means that your medical prognosis is that you are either healed or you are not going to get any better or worse in the near future. If you are not completely healed, it is helpful if your doctor is willing and able to testify as to how permanent your injury is and what treatment you face for what cost in the future. If you are not medically stationary and you resolve your case, you risk finding out later that your injury was worse than you thought and you deserved more money. Once you sign a settlement agreement you release the other party from any future financial responsibility for their negligence. If you can hold out financially, it is usually better to do so. If you absolutely cannot, you need to have a serious discussion with your lawyer about your options. Some cases are held up simply because the two sides disagree on some aspect of the case and litigation will be necessary to resolve it. It is not uncommon for the parties to disagree on how much the case is worth, whether the defendant was negligent, whether the plaintiff contributed to the negligence, how long it should take to heal and many other aspects of the case. That is why we have lawsuits, so that an impartial finder of fact can decide these issues after both parties have an opportunity to present their best case. Litigation is a long and difficult process. I always go over this with my clients prior to filing a lawsuit. In fact it is one of the things I discuss with them when I sign them up for representation. A lawsuit can take years to resolve and can be emotionally draining for someone who is trying to recover from even a fairly minor injury. When the parties are at an impasse your options are limited. You can try to settle the case in a fire sale (for less than it is really worth), you can drop the case, or you can continue to fight. Again, it is time to have a sit down with your attorney to discuss your dilemma and your options. Some cases are held up because the lawyer is busy working on other cases and your case is not a priority to them at this time. If this is the case you need to stress to your attorney that you need to be moved to the top of the heap because of your dire financial circumstances. Having said that, you need to recognize that there is only so much that the lawyer can do. Defense firms like to stall cases so they can bill additional hours to the insurance company. Your lawyer wants to resolve the case quickly. The longer it goes on the less money your lawyer makes per hour (if he or she is working on a contingency fee basis). The defense is getting paid by the hour, so they want to do as much work as they can. Realistically, five months is not a long time in a personal injury case. It is likely that your lawyer has not even filed a lawsuit yet. It can take over a year for a case to be ready to file and once it is filed it can take years to get to court.

Unfortunately most personal injury cases take at least a year before being resolved. We advise clients that the process runs 18 months to 2 years. Many injured victims need at least a year to determine the extent of any permanent injury. So as difficult as it is, it probably is in your best interests to give the process the time needed to reach a point where settlement can be reached in an amount that adequately compensates you.

There is not enough information to answer the question. These types of cases can go on for years, depending on the nature of the accident, the type and extent of injuries, the diagnosis and treatment of your condition and the prospects for permanent impairment, and that's just for starters. It is possible that the case cannot be sped up.

You can get PIP benefits to pay for medical expenses and lost wages and/or you can settle your case for pain and suffering.

Unfortunately, the court system can move pretty slowly, especially when you're in a bad situation and need a case resolved in order to get on with your life. All you can really do is stay in touch with your personal injury attorney and provide whatever information you are asked to provide as quickly as possible. Ask your attorney about the likelihood of getting a litigation loan. It might be worth doing.

It is not clear as to whether your case is in litigation or otherwise. If you don't already have an attorney, you should at least consult with a locval plaintiff's personal injury or accident attorney.

I cannot give individual advice to you because you probably already have an attorney. I can discuss this issue in general. The short answer for a Plaintiff wanting to settle quickly is to settle for less that the case may ultimately be worth. An insurance adjuster will usually offer some money early on, but it is usually a lot less than most plaintiffs will settle for. Several things must happen before you can obtain a fair settlement. First, you must reach maximum medical improvement, meaning your injury is stable, and you will get no better. Often this is when you are "released" from your doctor's care. It is really premature to even begin negotiating if the doctor is still treating you, unless the doctor is treating you after you have reached MMI. After you have reached MMI, the attorney must get all of your medical records and bills and either put together a demand package for the adjuster, or file suit. This can often take several months if the medical treatment is complicated, because it takes to five seeks to get medical records from most doctors, and with some you have to request the records twice, causing it to take a couple of months. Sometimes, after getting all of the records, you discover you failed to request records from a medical provider. This is because the client didn't tell you about this provider (often because the client didn't know the provider, such as a pathologist, radiologist, or anesthesiologist, had his own separate records and bills. The attorney notices this when he reviews the records and sees a reference to this other medical provider. Once the attorney submits the package to the adjuster, it often takes one to three months for the adjuster to respond. Some attorneys skip this step and just file suit. Because of all of the steps described above, it is often a year to three years after the accident that suit is filed (keep in mind, it often takes over a year to reach MMI). Once you file suit it takes 30 to 60 days for the Defendant to file an answer. Usually, no offers are made until discovery (answers to written interrogatories, production of documents and tangible evidence, and depositions) is substantially complete. Discovery often goes on for 3 to 8 months. The bottom line is, it is difficult to settle any significant case inside a year, from one to two years is probably normal, and it can easily stretch out for over three years if you have to go to trial. At any point along the way, you can accept what they are offering.

Five months is nothing. These cases can take years.

A personal injury case can take a long time, between one and two years or more. If you have an attorney, ask why it's taking so long; if you don't, probably you should find an attorney to help you understand the process.

If you are already represented by an attorney you should ask him/her these questions. If you do not have an attorney, you should consult with one for specific advice regarding your case.

The easiest way to speed up a case is to take a settlement of less than full value! If you have an experienced trial lawyer, he or she should move the case as fast as possible, but not so fast that it hurts the value of your case. You will never get "enough" money for your injury, so it is important to maximize the value of your case. If you don't have a lawyer, the best thing you can do to move things along is to hire a lawyer. Insurance companies only take you seriously if you can force them to do so- a lawyer can do things to prepare your case that you won't think to do. A lawyer adds value to your case for that reason. If you have a lawyer, trust him to do his job. If you don't, hire a good one. Otherwise, be prepared to take what the insurance company gives you, when they decide to do it.

Nothing can be done usually until your medical treatment has been completed and all bills and records are in the hands of your attorney. If you have completed treatment, ask your attorney if he has obtained the records from each health care provider. If not, offer your assistance to get that moving. If you are claiming loss of earnings, you need to give your attorney the wage information or other documentation to support the loss. Once your attorney has all of this information, the attorney can prepare a demand letter and start the negotiation process.

You haven't given enough facts to give you any real advice, but five months may not be long at all depending on the circumstances, such as your medical condition, lawyer's caseload, the adjuster's caseload. Just getting all of the medical records and bills in can take a couple of months if the offices are understaffed and overworked. Get updates from your attorney frequently, but you'll need to be patient, too.

The scope of the question as I understand it is your personal injury case is moving too slowly, and you would like it sped up. The short answer to this question is very simple. Assuming, there is an insurance company on the other side or the defendant is represented by an attorney and has assets; really the only way to speed up the process is to accept pennies on the dollar or so to speak. This is also assuming any offers are being made. A typical tactic out of defense counsel and the insurance industry playbook is to deny, delay, and confuse not just the jury but also everybody involved. This allows the insurance industry, defense attorneys, and defendants to save millions of dollars a year. This article will be reposted on my website wwwBodeylaw. com. This tactic is so effective that even during the housing crisis insurance companies are reporting billion-dollar profits. Allstate insurance Company reported a 26 billion-dollar profit margin. Zucco, Tom (2007-02-20). "Ruling: Insurers can drop policies". St. Petersburg Times. Although, I have not done any independent research in this area, I suspect that profit margins this large is, as a direct result of the insurance industries effective propaganda associated with the judicial system, plaintiff's attorneys, among other things coupled with hired logiest to effectively curb injured parties rights at the legislative level. So the industry's playbook, which contains the heavily used denying, delay and confuse tactic has been very successful. The theory behind this is that, if you become so frustrated with the process, which it appears by your question that you are, you will accept pennies on the dollar to get out of the process even when it is against your own best interest. As an exclaims representative for an insurance company in the late 90s, I can tell you this is a typical tactic. The very reason I left the insurance industry was due to the aforementioned. Assuming your represented by counsel at this time, you may also want to discuss settlement options, which possibly could speed up the process. Nevertheless, be prepared, I inform my clients that generally speaking, this would not be within their best interest to do so. Slow, steady, clear and concise is the tactic a good plaintiff's attorney will utilize. Bottom line, discuss this with your attorney in detail. Your representative should leave you with no questions regarding the process, but bear in mind that your representative does not have a crystal ball either. They will be unable to tell you exactly what the defendant will or will not do.

If you are desperate and have a lawyer, tell him and tell him to settle at any price he can get. That may not work. If you have a serious injury (you did not say) you would not settle until you are fully healed and have incurred maximum medical expense.

Personal injury cases take time. Insurance companies do not hand out money to the injured person just because there has been an injury. Compensation depends on many factors including liability and the severity of damages. Complicating the time line for compensation is the prudent rule that you do not want to begin settlement discussions until you have reaced a point of maximum recovery. All of that being said, I would need more facts about your situation to determine if the case is taking too long.

You could file suit and ask for an expedited arbitration or jury trial, if you want to limit your claim to $50,000 or less.