Faster Personal Injury Claims
A common question I receive in this business is, “How long is all of this going to take?” I have one smarty pants answer: “How long is it going to take you to get better?” You see, the process of resolving your injury claim is innately tied to your recovery. It is normally (there are exceptions) unwise to try to settle your claim prior to your recovery, so as long as you are still treating/getting better, we have to wait. Another way to state that is that I can’t make your claim go any faster, generally, than your treatment and recovery process. The sooner you get better, generally, the sooner we can get your case resolved.
But that information doesn’t really normally help people who are worried about the length of the claims process. The reality is that every case resolves in its own time. There are A LOT of variables in this process that can affect the length of the process. But is there anything you can do to speed it up? Here are a few tips that can help:
- Communicate! The more you stay in touch with your lawyer, the more stream-lined this process will be, and the less time it will take. I normally try to communicate with clients via email, so look for those every two weeks, answer the questions I pose, ask any questions you have, and keep me apprised of any developments. If you aren’t seeing emails bi-weekly, something is wrong and you should call. If you don’t like email, then tell me (or whomever you hire) to communicate with you in your preferred fashion. If you have concerns, raise them promptly. The sooner you get answers from me the happier you’ll probably be. And I’m full of answers!
- Do your homework! When clients hire me, they get what I call my “client summary memo.” If they read that, they know exactly what the normal process looks like and what they should be doing. If they don’t know that, that’s on them, not me. First, we normally talk about all of those things in the initial meeting. Second, they have it all in writing in their email, so they have everything they need right there. And if they don’t know/aren’t sure about something, they can call. See number 1 above…ask questions! But there are things you can do early on in the process that can save us time toward the end…namely, make sure you’re keeping up with your pain journal, make sure your health insurance is doing what it’s supposed to, and approach your employer about the lost wage letter you may need so that will already be in the works.
- Get rid of your pre-conceived notions! To be blunt, your opinion on how long this should take is probably ill-informed. It’s not your fault, but the information you are working with is probably inaccurate. Most of the time this sort of problem arises from talking to friends and family…”Uncle Bob told me he had a case just like mine but he got $1 million AND his settled in 1 and half weeks!” Uncle Bob is probably full of $#!^ so don’t listen to him. Who you should listen to is the professional with almost two decades of experience in this field and whom you’ve hired to handle your claim. The reality is that there is no guaranteed time-line on which cases resolve. Yes, there are averages, but – and I can’t say this enough – EVERY CASE IS DIFFERENT! Knowing that there is no time-line will help you be more patient with this process.
Having said all of that, why are you so worried about how long this is taking? Your main concern should be your recovery, so if you focus on on that instead of your settlement, things will probably seem to go by a lot more quickly. Ryron Gracie, a jiu jitsu legend, says that the fastest way to getting a black belt is not to worry about it. Same thing here.
Finally, I’ll leave you to consider the old adage, “Do you want it done quickly or do you want it done right?”
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