I hate to give you a lawyer answer, but really, “it depends.” We pride ourselves on getting full value for our cases. We love to go to trial and will absolutely do so if the insurance company is not being reasonable. Whether and when a case settles or not depends on many factors, but two are particularly important: first, the nature and extent of your injuries; second, the amount of insurance coverage that is available to address your injuries.
For instance, in many unfortunate circumstances, there are very significant injuries and very little coverage to compensate for those injuries. In those cases, the settlement can occur very quickly, but be less than satisfying.
On the other hand, where the damages or injuries are significant, and there is also significant insurance coverage to address those damages, the case can tend to take some time. There are financial reasons why that is the case. If your case is worth a significant amount of money, the insurance company will delay settlement so as to maintain those funds in their account. There is little financial incentive for them to rush the settlement. Our job as your attorney is to push them and force the issue as aggressively as possible.
One of the key questions you should ask about your attorney is, “Will my attorney push my case?” There are things that the attorney can control in the process and things that are beyond the attorney’s control. For instance, the initial investigation and follow-up consultation with you are entirely within the attorney’s control. Is your attorney moving quickly to gather medical bills, to assist you in submitting those bills, to gather police reports, 911 tapes, and witness information? Has your attorney kept you informed of progress and consulted with you on your settlement options? If not, you may have the wrong attorney.
One issue that your attorney absolutely cannot control is the pace of your recovery. Your recovery may delay the settlement process. It is never a good idea to settle your case too early. What if you settle your case and then the following month, you find out you have to have a major surgery for the injuries you suffered as a result of the crash? If that happens, it’s simply too late – we cannot go back and get you more money. While a full recovery is not necessary to settle a case, it can be important to understand your prognosis in evaluating the proper scope of damages.
