The process after a car accident can be long and tedious. It can be months or even years before an insurance settlement is paid out. Covering medical bills and property repairs out of pocket during this period can place a significant financial strain on individuals and families. It may be frustrating waiting for updates from your lawyer or chasing down insurance adjusters while recovering from a car accident. Although it may seem as though progress is slow, substantial work is often taking place behind the scenes to advance your claim.
There are many reasons why your car accident settlement might take a while.
- Investigation and evidence gathering
- Disputed Liability
- Insurance Company Tactics
- Complex Damages and High-Value Claims
- Legal or Procedural Delays
- Negotiation process
Overview of the Accident Claim Process
During the claim process, your lawyer isn’t just sitting around doing nothing. Lawyers are constantly gathering evidence, negotiating a settlement, or pushing insurance for updates on your behalf. It might be tempting to call your attorney every day asking for updates, but new developments may not come as frequently as you expect. If you understand how the claims process works, you’ll see what your attorney is actually working on behind the scenes. In most cases, the process follows several key steps:
- Reporting the Accident: The process begins when you file a claim with your insurance provider or the at-fault driver’s insurer. You’ll submit basic details about the accident, including when and where it occurred, who was involved, and what damage or injuries you sustained. Learn more about what to do after a car accident.
- Investigation:
The investigation often involves reviewing the police report, collecting witness statements, inspecting vehicle damage, and requesting your medical records. If liability is unclear or the facts are disputed, the investigation can take additional time. A good car accident lawyer could spend weeks gathering evidence to support your claim. - Medical Evaluation: During a car accident case, you may be asked to provide documentation of your injuries and treatment. In many cases, the insurer will wait until your condition has reached “Maximum Medical Improvement.” In other words, your provider is waiting for your condition to stabilize before calculating the full value of your claim to ensure all your medical costs, including future medical expenses, are accounted for.
- Settlement Negotiations: Once the investigation is complete and damages are clear, negotiations begin. Your attorney will submit a demand outlining what you believe is fair compensation. The insurer may make a counteroffer, and the back-and-forth can continue for weeks or even months until you reach an agreement.
- Resolution: If a fair settlement is reached, you’ll sign a release of claims in exchange for payment. If negotiations fail or the insurer continues to delay, your attorney may recommend filing a lawsuit.
Why Your Car Accident Settlement Might Take a While
The process after a car accident can be long and complex. Authorities need to take the proper time to ensure all facts of the case are documented, and all parties are safe. All injured parties must receive medical treatment, and the insurance company needs to determine how much of the expenses they are willing to cover. In many cases, insurance companies are looking for reasons to pay out as little as they can for your personal injury claim, so unfortunately, it’s in their best interest to drag out the process.
1. Investigation and Evidence Gathering
Before an insurance company agrees to pay a settlement, it must verify the facts of your accident. Adjusters are required to ensure that claims are legitimate and accurately valued. The investigation process involves collecting evidence such as police reports, photos of the scene, vehicle damage estimates, medical records, and witness statements.
Delays often occur if any information is incomplete, inconsistent, or contested by the other party. For example, if witnesses disagree about who caused the car crash or if medical records are missing, the insurer may take longer to finish its investigation. If you keep track of any reports or medical records, you can help move the process along more quickly.
2. Liability Disputes
The car accident settlement process can be particularly drawn out if opposing parties and witnesses disagree on who is liable. In cases of disagreement, your lawyer may need to gather additional statements and document further details about vehicle damage and cross-examine the conflicting views. California uses comparative negligence, which means both drivers can share a percentage of the blame. If there’s any question about who caused the auto accident or how much each person contributed, insurance companies often spend weeks or months arguing over fault.
3. Complex Damages and High-Value Claims
When your accident involves serious injuries or a large amount of money, it’s normal for the insurance company to take more time reviewing your claim. High-value cases receive extra scrutiny to verify medical records, treatment costs, and long-term impacts before approving payment. When multiple parties or insurers are involved, the process becomes even more complicated.
4. Legal or Procedural Delays
The California Court System is often overworked, which can make even simple proceedings take longer. A car accident lawsuit proceeding can be delayed or drag out for a variety of reasons, including witness unavailability and bureaucratic processes. The court has strict procedures that must be followed, such as discovery, depositions, and pre-trial motions. Pre-trial motions, such as a motion for summary judgment, can further delay the legal process as each motion must be drafted and reviewed. The process can stretch out a case for months or even years. A team of lawyers like Lawyers for Justice, PC can move the processes along as efficiently as possible, and give you the best shot at maximum value for your case.
5. Negotiation Back-and-Forth
A negotiation can be the most important part of the settlement process. A good negotiator can make a tremendous difference in the size of your motor vehicle accident settlement. A fierce negotiation can be drawn out for months, while either side sends subsequent counter-offers and makes their case. During negotiation, every factor must be weighed, including who was at fault, the severity and long-term impact of your injuries, property damage, and any additional expenses you’ve incurred. For example, if you had groceries in your car at the time of the crash, the cost of replacing spoiled food should be factored into your claim, along with smaller but important costs like towing fees, rental car expenses, or lost wages.
It’s also common for insurance companies to push back on the claimed damages or argue that certain costs aren’t directly related to the accident. That’s why it’s so important to have documentation such as photos, receipts, medical records, and witness statements to support your claim. Negotiations involving severe injuries may be time-consuming due to the larger settlement amount at stake. When negotiations stall, your attorney may recommend mediation or even preparing for trial to pressure the insurer into offering a fair settlement. Though the process can be slow and sometimes frustrating, thorough negotiation often results in significantly higher compensation for you.
Call a Top Personal Injury Lawyer
At Lawyers for Justice, PC is a team of lawyers that is empowered to recover as many expenses as possible for car accident victims. As personal injury attorneys, we can focus in a wide array of cases, including Car Accidents, Bus Accidents, Motorcycle Accidents, Dog Bites, Slip & Fall, and Workplace Injuries. We know that dealing with an injury can be both painful and expensive, which is why we handle all the bureaucratic work, so you can focus on recovering.
We can handle everything in a personal injury case, from filing your injury claim to gathering evidence and even negotiating with insurance companies on your behalf. We will even handle the lawsuit if it goes to court. Our car accident lawyers will be there to guide you with any advice you need along the way.
Compensation could be just a phone call away: (818) JUSTICE
