4 Key Factors That Can Delay a Personal Injury Case

The time required to settle a personal injury case can vary widely, depending on the complexity of the issues at hand. Your solicitor will be able to provide you with a rough estimate of the length of your claim, but it’s worth keeping in mind that things can change. As a rule, it can take anywhere from 3 months to 18 months to settle.If the defendantfollows the protocol timetable and admits liability, then your claim should be settled in no time. Nevertheless, if the defendant fails to comply with the time limits, your solicitor can issue the proceedings.

The fact of the matter is that personal injury cases take a long time to resolve. Please continue reading to learn more about the factors that could delay your case.

1.      The Nature of Your Injuries

The terms personal injury and bodily injury are often used interchangeably, although they refer to different realities. Personal injury is any type of injury that occurs in an accident, whether physical, mental, or emotional. On the other hand, bodily injury refers to a specific kind of harm. For instance, a person who was the victim of an assault may have suffered bodily harm as a result. The term bodily injury is often used in criminal court cases. In what follows, we’ll take a look at some common types of personal injury cases:

• Car accidents
• Slips, trips, and falls
• Medical negligence
• Dog bites
• Allergic reactions

Many injuries, but not all, have a legal dimension. Work-related injuries are the most prevalent type of personal injury problem, with employees with a temporary contract being most likely confronted with severe injuries than permanent ones. If you’ve experienced a personal injury, chances are that you’ve sustained a substantial injury, having a moderate or severe impact on your everyday life.

Some injuries take weeks, while others take months to heal, and you may experience depression, mood swings, and other conflicting feelings. Case settlement negotiations may be stalled because of the nature of your injuries. You need medical records to prove the existence, cause, type, and seriousness of the injuries if you want to recover compensation, and the current system is based on the law of tort. Negligence is the most common form of tort, imposing a duty to behave as reasonably as possible.

2.      Certainty of Liability

According to the experts at How Much Compensation, for personal injury cases, certainty is key to confident decision-making. If it’s crystalclear that the alleged negligent party is responsible for the accident, you’ll recover higher compensation. By taking time to identify and interview witnesses (and compiling evidence), your solicitor will make the strongest case possible as far as liability is concerned. Nevertheless, if you share liability for the incident, the level of compensation you’ll receive will be impacted. More exactly, if you were equally to blame for the accident, you’ll receive only 50% of the compensation, as the amount of compensation is reduced based on the percentage of fault.

3.      Emotional & mental trauma

The pain and suffering resulting from an accident go beyond physical injuries, meaning it’s not uncommon for victims to experience emotional and mental trauma. Most people don’t recognise they’ve suffered such trauma or try to conceal their symptoms, believing they’re not serious enough to warrant professional assistance. The seriousness of emotional and mental trauma depends on several factors, including but not limited to pre-existing medical conditions, the potential lifethreat of the incident, the low rate of recovery, and reduced social support. If you and your solicitor can prove that you’ve sustained considerable psychological trauma, this will greatly impact your settlement.

Pain and suffering is the hardest figure to pin down because it’s less tangible than, for instance, medical expenses. The vast majority of insurance companies use the multiplier method, which entails adding up the existent damages and multiplying them by a number between 1.5 and 5. The multiplier will depend on numerous factors, such as the severity of your injuries, your prospects for a quick and complete recovery, and whether the other party was at fault for the incident. Another common approach to calculating pain and suffering is the per diem method which demands a certain amount for every day you’ve had to live with the pain caused by the accident.

4.      Delaying Tactics

The insurance company should work with you to settle the claim, but don’t be surprised if it tries to prolong the claim or convince you to accept a smaller payout than you rightfully deserve. After the accident, the financial repercussions keep on mounting, creating a sense of desperation, as you’re not able to return to work temporarily or permanently. Therefore, you’re willing to do anything to avoid financial woes. Be that as it may, it’s not a good idea to accept the first offer you get from the insurance company because it’s in their best interest to settle for the least amount of money possible.

Fight back against the insurance company if it delays the settlement of your personal injury case. Ask the insurance adjuster if they need other documents, photos, or information from you to proceed with the claim and don’t lose evidence supporting your claim during the waiting period. Should the insurance agent refuse to help you out, demand to speak with their supervisor. If more people look at the case, you have better chances of obtaining a favourable outcome. Don’t worry if you can’t reach an agreement with the insurance company because your solicitor will help you maximise your payout. Even if fault is difficult to establish, they’ll come up with a solution.

To sum up, as a personal injury victim, you don’t want to fight alone. Don’t delay seeking a solicitor if you want to obtain maximum compensation. The sooner your case is settled, the better. Make smart choices about whether to go to court to fight for your interests or try to solve your case via an out-of-court settlement. This is true, no matter how big your injury is. Keep in mind that pursuing just and fair compensation takes time, as there’s no set formula or deadline for any aspect to be solved.