How long does a personal injury case take?

If you’ve been injured in an accident due to the negligence or intentional conduct of another party or parties, you may have a personal injury claim. Personal injury cases can be settled out of court through a negotiated settlement or can be resolved through a trial in a court of law.

The majority of personal injury cases are settled through negotiations before the case reaches the trial stage. How long does a personal injury case take to settle? In cases with clear-cut liability and damages, the time between filing the claim and settlement may be shorter, but, in many cases, settlement may take one to two years, depending upon the complexity of the case. Personal injury cases involving serious injuries, questionable liability, or a potentially high settlement value are going to take a longer to settle.

Accident victims are often faced with an enormous strain on their resources resulting from costly medical bills as well as lost wages. Therefore, it is important to have a personal injury lawyer handle you claim to make sure that you receive fair and equitable compensation.

Sometimes faster is better

There are advantages to settling out of court vs a court case. One advantage to settling a personal injury case out of court are the costs associated with litigation, including higher attorney fees, expert witness fees, administrative and court filing fees, and any other miscellaneous expenses that are incurred during the course of the trial.

Not only is more money involved when a case is litigated in court, but another important consideration between settling out of court vs a trial is the time and associated stress involved in resolving a case through the courts. It may take years before you are actually paid an award whereas you’re more likely to receive financial compensation faster with a negotiated settlement. In addition, when a case is taken to trial, it’s very difficult to predict the decision of a jury or a judge whereas you have more control over the terms of a settlement agreement.

Taking the first step

If you’ve been injured due to the negligence of another party or parties, how do you know if you should sue for personal injury? Hiring a personal injury attorney who has experience in negotiating settlements as well as litigating personal injury cases is the first step. Rapid City lawyers, Greg Yates and Michael Shubeck, have more than 40 years of experience between them when it comes to handling personal injury cases.

Your first visit to our Rapid City law offices will be a free consultation at which time we will thoroughly discuss all of the aspects of your case, the pros and cons of negotiating a settlement vs. a trial, how long a personal injury will take if you should decide to settle out of court or proceed with litigation as well as all the costs and fees involved in each process.

Contact the law offices of Greg Yates and Michael Shubeck, personal injury attorneys in South Dakota, to schedule your free consultation.