How Often Personal Injury Cases Settle Out of Court

If you have ever experienced a personal injury, financial relief can never come soon enough. You likely feel like you are drowning in debt between medical expenses, lost wages, and vehicle or other property repair costs. Hiring an experienced and skilled lawyer is essential to recovering the fees that are rightfully due to you. The painful truth is that while your case will likely settle out of court, there is no way of knowing exactly how long it will take.

Although some personal injury cases move to trial, the vast majority (about 95%) are settled through negotiations. Our personal injury attorneys in Carlisle, PA, have helped many individuals recoup just compensation for their financial, physical, and emotional hardship. With experienced counsel by your side, you can rest easy knowing that by making one phone call, you can increase your chances of maximum compensation for your case.

What Information is Needed to Show Another Person’s Negligence?

Recovering for your losses following a personal injury requires you to prove that another person had a duty to provide you with reasonable care, neglected to adhere to this duty, and caused you harm in the form of damages. Evidence will vary based on the type of personal injury. For instance, evidence demonstrating liability in a car crash usually includes photographs of the accident scene, video surveillance, eyewitness testimony, and a police report.

Anything linking the at-fault driver’s actions to causing the crash will help support your personal injury case. This will differ from a medical malpractice case, utilizing expert witness testimony to examine your medical records thoroughly.

Timeline to Settle a Personal Injury Case

While every personal injury case is unique, you will not be able to settle your case until you have reached maximum medical improvement (MMI). As determined by your treating physician, MMI is the point at which you will no longer make further meaningful improvement, even with continued medical treatment. No crystal ball can tell you how long it will take you to reach MMI. The reality is that it could take several months or even a year or more. However, Pennsylvania law only permits a person two years to file a personal injury suit from the date of their injury, regardless of when they reach MMI. (Attempting to settle through insurance does not give you extra time.)

Most personal injury attorneys advise clients to wait until they reach MMI to ensure a better estimate of future damages. Until you have improved as much as possible, it will be challenging to determine if you will need further surgeries or the capacity in which you will be able to work down the road. Part of submitting a comprehensive compensation package to insurance includes approximating these costs. If you have not reached MMI by the time the two-year time limitation is approaching, a personal injury attorney can help you explore alternative options.

Speak with Our Dedicated Personal Injury Lawyers

Nobody can understand the gravity of a personal injury until it impacts them. Between lost income, countless surgeries, and costs to modify your home based on your current disability status, you may feel consumed by your injuries. If you or a loved one has recently suffered a personal injury, our personal injury attorneys serving Carlisle, PA, would like to speak with you. We adamantly believe that accident-related costs should be placed on the negligent party, not the victim. To learn how Mette Law can help, contact us online or call (717) 232-5000 today.