When a car accident is straightforward and fault isn’t disputed, a claim may be resolved within a few months. It’s when an at-fault driver or an insurance provider doesn’t accept the blame that cases can drag on longer.
Other factors, like when an accident involves expensive medical bills due to a serious injury, often take longer to sort out. In some cases, a trial is necessary and that prolongs the process.
Victims need to remember that sooner isn’t always better. They may sign off on a quickly extended settlement offer then later find their injuries aren’t completely healed. At this point, the victims can’t seek more money from the auto insurance company. Injured victims must get the financial help they need as soon as possible, but they must also make sure they receive everything they’ll need to pay for a full recovery.
How Long Should I Wait On a Traffic Accident Settlement?
Every car accident case is very different, and some cases take only weeks to resolve. Other cases can take years to finally work out with an insurance company.
An at-fault driver must pay for the damages and the recovery costs for victims. Unfortunately, those that are clearly to blame don’t always admit fault right away. Their insurance reps can also deny liability for the benefit of their policyholder or just to try to get out of accepting responsibility to save their companies money.
It can become a long and frustrating battle for victims who may be unable to work and have no chance of paying their hospital bills.
These are just a few things that may extend your wait during a car accident settlement negotiation:
- When insurance companies try to shift blame in the car accident
- When an insurance company is purposely delaying a response so you’ll become desperate
- When insurance companies try to use the fine print in contracts to escape accountability
- When insurance companies try to downplay how bad your injuries are
- When insurance companies pressure you to settle before all of your injuries have fully healed
- When insurance companies won’t accept fault and you must take them to court
These and other shady tactics often delay the support victims and their families could use at such a difficult time. They can fall behind on their normal monthly bills, like car payments and mortgage payments, as well. It’s easy to give in to these worries and sign off on a settlement offer that’s way too low to cover all of the victim’s recovery costs. That’s why a free conversation with a California car accident lawyer can be informative and beneficial for victims.
How Can an Attorney Help Your Car Accident Case?
Your Maison Law attorney monitors everything the auto insurance company does. Your attorney checks over every settlement offer and uses an experienced eye to determine if it’s a “lowball” offer. Your lawyer works on your behalf to reject these types of offers and demands more.
When insurance companies go weeks without contacting you about your claim, your lawyer takes action. This is often done as a strategy to get you desperate for financial help, so you’ll accept any inadequate injury settlement they extend.
These are some other helpful protections a skilled car accident attorney provides:
- Contact the Insurer Directly: Your lawyer would contact the insurance provider directly to warn employees about their behavior.
- Report the Insurance Company: California actually has laws that enforce deadlines for car insurance companies. They must respond to your claim in a certain amount of time and decide whether they’ll accept or reject your claim in a reasonable period. Your lawyer would report them to the California Department of Insurance if necessary.
- Back Your Case With Evidence: Your lawyer fully investigates your case and backs it with all available evidence. This is the best defense against insurance tactics. It makes it very hard for insurers to question your claim to help with recovery costs.
- The Threat of a Lawsuit: A Maison Law attorney also represents the threat of a lawsuit. If a car insurance company isn’t acting fairly and accepting responsibility, your attorney would have a strong case prepared to take the insurer to court. This threat is often enough to get insurance companies back to the negotiating table. They want to avoid the cost and embarrassment of having their behavior examined by a judge and jury. Victims are often handed a much more suitable settlement amount when a lawsuit is a real possibility.
Your lawyer handles the frustrating back-and-forth of negotiation with as little disruption to you and your family as possible. You are given this time to focus on healing and not financial worries. You can rest easy that your experienced attorney is securing the maximum in compensation available.
Contact a California Car Accident Lawyer
Speak with a skilled California Car Accident Attorney after a collision caused by someone else’s carelessness leaves you or a loved one with a serious injury. It’s important to know about every benefit available to you and your family because an insurance representative won’t be informing you about all of your options.
Contact Maison Law for a free, no-obligation consultation. It’s a no-risk way to find out what your injury is worth and what you should demand from insurers.
