Clients that ask their lawyer such a question usually want to know how long they must wait, until receiving a check.
The speed with which any money might be delivered does not always match with the desirability of the result.
A claimant that manages to obtain a settlement check in a short amount of time might not receive a very large check. Some things that increase the length of a case’s duration also increase the size of the victim’s compensation.
Factors that work to increase the duration of a case
An accident victim seeks and then hires a Personal Injury Lawyer in Fort Erie. The same lawyer works to gather evidence. The presented evidence helps to win the client a higher settlement. The victim of an accident agrees to accept the insurance company’s first offer. If that same person had taken the time to negotiate with the insurance company, the exposure of certain facts might have pushed the insurer to offer a larger settlement.
A claimant files a personal injury lawsuit. While preparing for the lawsuit, the claimant’s lawyer conducts a fact-finding investigation. The discovery of previously overlooked facts helps to strengthen the claimant’s case, and aids delivery of a larger compensation.
The claimant sends a notice to the insurance company. That notice tells the insurer about the claimant’s plans for filing a personal injury lawsuit. The insurer tells the insurance adjuster to devote less time and effort to pushing for a quick resolution of the case that seems on the verge of triggering a lawsuit. An accident victim responds to evidence of injury by refusing to negotiate with the insurance company, until he or she has attained maximum medical improvement (MMI).
The insurer stops requesting a quick resolution of the victim’s case. The case created by the injury manages to ensure delivery of a large compensation package. Compare that result with the one obtained by the accident victim that has assumed that no one has been injured, because there are no visible injuries. Indeed, that victim did escape injury, but other occupants of the impacted vehicle did not. Consequently, the injuries to one occupant get overlooked.
Later, that same occupant suffers a delayed symptom, an episode of dizziness. While that dizzy spell gets reported to the doctor, the same physician lacks the ability to explain it, because the patient did not reveal his or her involvement in an accident.
The insurance adjuster finds nothing in the medical report that connects the dizzy spell to the accident. As a result, the victim receives a small settlement check. The same victim signs a release, and remains unable to seek compensation for treatment of an injury that went unnoticed, and unmentioned in the victim’s medical record.