If you’ve been injured in a car accident or other wreck in Charleston or Columbia, South Carolina, one of the first questions you may have is: How long will my personal injury case take?
The short answer is that every case is different.
A relatively straightforward personal injury claim may settle within a few months, while a complicated case involving serious injuries, disputed fault, or a lawsuit may take 18 months or longer.
At Bill Green Law Firm, we understand that people injured in accidents want their cases resolved as quickly as possible. But resolving a case quickly isn’t the only goal. It’s also important to understand the full extent of your injuries and losses before determining what constitutes fair compensation.
Here are some of the biggest factors that can affect how long a personal injury case takes in South Carolina.
- How Long Your Medical Treatment Takes
Medical treatment is often one of the biggest factors affecting the personal injury settlement timeline.
After a car accident, truck accident, motorcycle accident, or other serious wreck, your first priority should be getting the medical treatment you need.
Someone with relatively minor injuries may complete treatment within a few weeks or months. More serious injuries can require surgery, physical therapy, injections, rehabilitation, specialist care, or ongoing medical treatment.
Generally, we don’t want to resolve a personal injury claim until treatment is complete or your doctors have a good understanding of your injuries and the medical care you may need in the future.
Why?
Because once a personal injury claim is settled, you generally can’t go back to the insurance company later and ask for additional compensation because your injuries turned out to be worse than expected.
Before evaluating a potential settlement, it’s important to understand the full impact of the accident, including:
- Past medical expenses
- Potential future medical treatment
- Lost wages or income
- Pain and suffering
- Permanent injuries or limitations
- How the injuries have affected your everyday life
A quick settlement isn’t necessarily a fair settlement.
- Gathering Medical Records, Bills and Evidence
Once your treatment is complete—or your doctors have a good understanding of your future medical needs—your personal injury attorney can gather the documentation needed to present your claim to the insurance company.
That may include:
- Medical records
- Medical bills
- Accident or collision reports
- Photographs and videos
- Wage-loss documentation
- Witness statements
- Insurance information
- Evidence concerning who caused the accident
- Documentation of how the injuries have affected your life
Getting all of this information can take time.
Hospitals, doctors’ offices, employers, insurance companies, and other organizations don’t always provide records immediately. If you were treated by several different medical providers, collecting everything necessary to properly document the claim may take longer.
- How the Insurance Company Handles the Claim
The insurance company can have a significant impact on how quickly a personal injury case settles.
In some cases, responsibility for the accident is clear, the injuries are well documented, and the insurance company makes a reasonable settlement offer.
In other cases, the insurance company may dispute who caused the accident, question the severity of the injuries, challenge certain medical treatment, or simply make an offer that doesn’t fairly compensate the injured person.
Settlement negotiations may go back and forth several times.
An experienced South Carolina personal injury attorney can evaluate an insurance company’s offer and help you determine whether it reasonably reflects the injuries and losses caused by the accident.
- Whether Fault for the Accident Is Disputed
Cases generally move faster when it’s clear who caused the accident.
For example, if another driver clearly caused a rear-end collision and the facts aren’t disputed, establishing responsibility may be relatively straightforward.
Other accidents require considerably more investigation.
Depending on the circumstances, an attorney may need to obtain photographs, video footage, witness statements, vehicle information, police reports, electronic data, or expert opinions to determine what happened.
This can be particularly important in complicated car accidents and commercial truck accidents involving multiple vehicles or potentially multiple responsible parties.
- How Serious the Injuries Are
The severity of the injuries can affect both the value and length of a personal injury case.
A claim involving injuries that heal within a few months may be ready for settlement negotiations relatively quickly.
A catastrophic injury case can be very different.
If someone has suffered a traumatic brain injury, spinal injury, permanent impairment, or another serious injury, doctors may need significant time to determine the person’s long-term prognosis and future medical needs.
Understanding those future consequences can be essential to properly evaluating the case.
- Whether a Personal Injury Lawsuit Has to Be Filed
Personal injury claims that can be fairly resolved through negotiations with the insurance company generally conclude faster than cases requiring litigation.
Unfortunately, sometimes an insurance company simply refuses to make a reasonable offer.
When that happens, filing a personal injury lawsuit may be necessary to pursue the compensation the injured person deserves.
Once a lawsuit is filed, the case enters the litigation process. That can include:
- Written discovery
- Depositions
- Expert witnesses
- Motions
- Mediation
- Court hearings
- Trial preparation
- Trial
The court’s schedule can also affect the timeline.
For these reasons, a South Carolina personal injury lawsuit may take significantly longer than a claim that can be settled directly with the insurance company.
How Long Does a Car Accident Settlement Take in South Carolina?
There is no set amount of time for a car accident settlement in South Carolina.
A straightforward accident claim involving clear responsibility and injuries that resolve relatively quickly may settle within a few months.
A serious car accident case involving extensive medical treatment, disputed responsibility, multiple insurance companies, or litigation may take a year or longer. Cases that proceed through litigation and toward trial can take 18 months or more.
The important thing is not simply how quickly a case settles. It’s whether the settlement fairly reflects the injuries and losses caused by the accident.
Frequently Asked Questions About Personal Injury Case Timelines
How long does it take to settle a personal injury case?
Some straightforward personal injury claims can settle within a few months. More complicated cases may take a year or longer, and cases involving litigation can take 18 months or more. The timeline depends on factors including medical treatment, the severity of the injuries, disputed fault, insurance negotiations, and whether a lawsuit is necessary.
Why does my lawyer wait until I finish medical treatment to settle my case?
Your lawyer needs to understand the extent of your injuries before properly evaluating your claim. If you settle before knowing whether you’ll need additional treatment, surgery, or other medical care, those future expenses and consequences may not be adequately reflected in the settlement.
Can a personal injury lawyer make my case settle faster?
An attorney can help keep a case moving by gathering evidence, obtaining records, communicating with insurance companies, and avoiding unnecessary delays. However, some parts of the process—particularly medical treatment and court schedules—cannot simply be rushed.
Does filing a lawsuit mean my case will go to trial?
No. Filing a lawsuit does not necessarily mean your case will ultimately be decided by a jury. Cases can still resolve through settlement negotiations or mediation after litigation begins.
Should I accept an insurance company’s quick settlement offer?
A fast settlement isn’t necessarily a good settlement. Before accepting an offer, it’s important to understand the extent of your injuries, medical expenses, potential future treatment, lost income, and other losses related to the accident.
Talk to a South Carolina Personal Injury Attorney
If you’ve been injured in a car wreck, truck accident, motorcycle accident, or another accident caused by someone else, you probably have questions about what happens next.
At Bill Green Law Firm, we represent injured people in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, and throughout South Carolina.
We can review the circumstances of your accident, explain the personal injury process, and help you understand what factors may affect the timeline of your particular case.
Call Bill. Get Green.