If you’ve suffered an injury in a car accident, you’re likely out of work, racking up medical bills, and unsure of where to turn for financial relief. Even though you’ll be out of work for weeks or even months, your expenses will not decrease. So why is your accident settlement taking so long?
The fact of the matter is, there are many reasons why your personal injury settlement or car accident claim is taking so long to resolve, including
- Negotiations with your or the other driver’s insurance company
- Reaching maximum medical improvement
- Investigating the cause of the crash
- Determining who should be held responsible
- and others
A car accident claim is a type of personal injury claim, and all of these can take months or even years to resolve. There are multiple reasons as to why these delays occur, but rest assured that when you hire Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys, you hire a car accident lawyer with your interests in mind, who’ll work their hardest to resolve your claim as quickly as possible so you can move on with your life.
Why Personal Injury Claims Take So Long
At Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys, we understand how frustrating it can be waiting for a settlement offer—we work with our clients every day to resolve their injury claims as quickly and as equitably as possible. However, handling a personal injury claim is complex. Here are just a few of the things we’re working on with your case:
- Determining the proper time to file legal motions, including your initial demand and follow-up demands and requests
- Determining the amount to demand: this is the amount you’ll require to recover from your injuries and become financially whole again
- Consulting medical professionals to determine your maximum medical improvement or the amount that you’re able to heal after a complete course of treatment
- Consulting with financial professionals to determine the economic and non-economic costs of your injuries
Economic damages are those with a specific monetary amount attached to them, such as property damages, medical bills, lost wages, and the like. In contrast, non-economic damages are those that can’t be priced, such as loss of consortium, physical pain, mental anguish, and loss of companionship. Both types of damages can be compensated for, though we know no amount of money can fully heal all wounds.
Insurance Companies Delay to Avoid Settlement
Your insurance company might try to delay your claim and avoid paying out the full amount you’re owed. After we submit your initial demand letter, they might fire back with any number of requests that can delay your settlement including:
- Demand for proof of damages, or all the documents that we’ve consulted to determine the damages to demand: this is generally the first tactic used to delay payment
- Insistence that the claim is bloated: Insurers don’t want to make big payouts, so they might try to chip away at your compensation (don’t worry; Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys are experienced in handling this tactic)
- Questioning their liability: Often, insurers will attempt to claim that they hold no liability for your injuries or much less than you’ve claimed, either because you had a pre-existing condition leading to some of your symptoms, that you were partially responsible for your injuries, or that someone else was responsible that they aren’t involved with
Insurance companies often try to drag their feet on a settlement to convince you to take a lower payout. With Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys on your side, you can be confident that we’ll get the maximum compensation you’re entitled to. In fact, we don’t charge our clients a dime unless we’ve won their case—that’s the G Guarantee.
When Injury Claims Go to Court
Finally, if the insurance company refuses to come to an agreement on the amount they owe, you may need to file a lawsuit to be justly compensated. Louisiana statute defines a one-year limit on injury claims, so you’ll have that long from your accident to file a lawsuit.
When a case does go to court, your car wreck injury lawyer will argue your case in front of a judge or jury. We’ll go toe-to-toe with the insurance lawyers, and do everything we can to help you win a fair judgment. However, remember that court can go either way and when it does, that’s final. For this reason, and for the greater costs associated with court trials, the majority of injury claims are settled out-of-court.
You Can Trust Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys to Keep Your Case Moving
Whatever happens, you can trust us to never cause unnecessary delays in your claim. Your insurance company might tell you that a personal injury firm will slow down your claims process, but don’t be fooled—they’d prefer you represent yourself because it benefits them.
If you’ve been injured in a Louisiana car accident, call personal injury lawyers you can trust. Give us a call today at 888.501.7888 for a free consultation and to get started on healing from your injuries.
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