The timeline for a personal injury case depends largely on the extent to which the plaintiff seeks fair compensation for his or her losses. At the same time, certain other factors can work to speed or slow the rate at which a give case proceeds through the legal system.

Issues that might slow the rate at which a case moves through the legal system

A question has arisen, regarding which party should be held at fault for a given accident. An insurance company might claim that the plaintiff is partly responsible. A plaintiff that wanted to fight that allegation would do well to sue the insurance company.

That could mean filing a personal injury lawsuit. Such an action would let an insurance company know that the plaintiff means business. He or she stands ready to fight for an accident victim’s rights. The insurance company has questioned the extent to which the plaintiff was injured. This usually happens when a plaintiff’s injuries appear serious. The insurance company might seek to show that the plaintiff had failed to mitigate the injuries.

Insurers feel reluctant to pay a huge sum of money.

If the terms of a policy have provided the adjuster with plenty of money, he or she could still seek to lower the size of the plaintiff’s award. In the past, some insurance companies have sought to cast doubt on the credibility of the plaintiff’s claim.

One way for reducing the credibility of a plaintiff’s claim entails suggesting that the plaintiff is partly to blame. That approach has a greater appeal to the insurance company, if the plaintiff suffers with a chronic medical condition, or got injured in an earlier accident.

The role of the injured plaintiff’s MMI

MMI stands for maximum medical improvement. An injured victim should seek to attain a level of MMI, before initiating any negotiations with the insurance company. If there is any evidence that the injury might heal further, the victim/plaintiff should refuse to negotiate with the insurance company.

Personal Injury Lawyer in Waterdown knows that refusal would reflect the plaintiff’s awareness of what must take place, following agreement on a settlement. At that time, the insurer would ask the plaintiff to sign a release. Once the release has been signed, the insurer has escaped responsibility for any complications that might arise, if the injury were to fail to heal properly.

Naturally, it takes time for any one victim/plaintiff to arrive at the point of MMI. Still, no smart claimant/plaintiff should seek to shorten the case’s timeline. That simply invites the possible appearance later of additional, unforeseen symptoms. If a release has been signed, then the insurance company does not have to compensate the claimant/plaintiff for the costs created by such symptoms.