Car accident lawsuits serve to compensate victims for damages they sustained because of their crashes. For your car accident claim to succeed, you must be able to prove that your crash stems from the defendant’s negligence.
Reaching a settlement for your car accident claim can take anywhere from weeks to months to years. Each case is unique, and there are a multitude of factors that can influence the length of time it takes to recover compensation.
If you are seeking payment through a car crash settlement in Chicago, our law firm can help. Speak with our experienced Chicago car accident attorneys today by calling (312) 578-8502. Our lawyers at the Rhatigan Law Offices can help identify the best route to compensation.
How Long Does it Take to Recover Damages in a Chicago Car Accident Case?
Determining the average amount of time it takes to settle car accident cases in Chicago is a difficult task. Each case is different, and several factors can influence plaintiffs’ paths to compensation. Furthermore, defendants and their insurance companies often employ delay tactics to try and entice lower settlement agreements.
Accordingly, car accident lawsuits can take anywhere from weeks to months to years to complete. During your free case evaluation, our Illinois personal injury lawyers can help explain the process for recovering monetary damages and the length of time it may take to settle your claim.
Factors that Can Impact the Time it Takes to Settle Your Chicago Car Accident Case
Multiple circumstances may arise, causing your car accident case to be extended. For instance, any of the following factors can influence the length of time it takes to settle your claim:
The Severity of Your Injuries
One major factor that influences how long it might take to get a settlement is the severity of your injuries. Severe injuries often require more extensive treatment, which leads to bigger hospital bills. As such, damages in these cases tend to be higher, and the parties might negotiate longer to come to an agreement.
We should also think about the duration of your recovery. When recovery is slow, victims often experience a more significant disruption to their lives and more physical pain from their injuries. Exactly what these experiences are worth is hard to say, and we may need more time to determine their value.
Questions as to Which Driver is at Fault
Not every car accident is an open-and-shut case where it is obvious which driver is to blame. Many accidents are complicated, and both drivers involved might try to blame the other.
If the other driver refuses to acknowledge that they are to blame, they are less likely to cooperate during settlement negotiations. It might take time to convince them to offer any kind of settlement, let alone one that adequately meets your needs.
The settlement process can take even longer if the evidence is unclear. The fact that evidence is unclear does not mean your claims are invalid, but it might make settlements more challenging.
The Insurance Company’s Level of Cooperation
Instead of negotiating directly with the defendant, we might be dealing with their insurance company. Insurance companies are not always known to be cooperative, and they might try underhanded yet legal tactics to get you to accept a lower settlement.
We know what your claims are worth, and we will continue negotiations until you get a settlement that covers your damages. Unfortunately, this can take a while if the insurance company refuses to cooperate or tries to delay negotiations until you become desperate.
Litigation
Settlement negotiations do not always pan out. Whether negotiations break down after much time and effort or a settlement is never an option, you may have to take your case to court for litigation.
Litigation is known to be time-consuming, especially if damages are high and a lot of money is at stake. Not only that, but each side must be given the chance to present witnesses, evidence, and arguments supporting their claims.
While litigation can be time-consuming, it may lead to substantial compensation. Sometimes, the compensation you get from a court verdict is more than what was offered as a settlement.
How Long Does it Take to Receive Your Settlement Check After a Judgment?
After a judgment is rendered in your favor, you should not expect a check immediately. If you are awarded damages through a court verdict or a settlement, there may be some time in between the end of the case and when you actually get paid fair compensation.
When You Get a Settlement Check
If you accept a settlement, you are arguably more likely to be paid a bit faster, depending on the circumstances. Generally, the defendant or an insurance company will not offer a settlement that they cannot pay. As such, once you accept a settlement offer, the defendant or insurance company is usually ready to pay.
However, a large settlement may take time to pull together. The money might not just be sitting in the bank ready to be cashed out. The defendant might have to liquidate assets, or the insurance company might need time to process the settlement.
It is not unusual for plaintiffs to wait anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months before receiving a check. If you wait longer, tell your lawyer so they can reach out and see what is happening.
What if the Defendant Refuses to Pay?
After a court judgment in your favor, the defendant might refuse to accept the outcome. It is not unusual for defendants to refuse to pay, and it might take some time to get the compensation to which you are entitled. Fortunately, we can seek help from the courts.
We may take steps to enforcement the judgment. Depending on the defendant’s assets, we might impose wage garnishments, bank levies, or place liens on their property. Unfortunately, this often means that it takes longer to get the money you are owed.
If the defendant outright refuses to pay, they might get into legal trouble. Refusal to pay after a court judgment may be considered a violation of a court order, which can lead to serious trouble for the defendant.
Liens and Other Debts
If you had some financial troubles before filing your car accident case in Chicago, you might face some complications when waiting for a settlement check. If you have outstanding debts, creditors might have filed liens against you. If this happens, a portion of your compensation may go to the creditor before you receive it.
It is also possible that your own insurance company will get involved. For example, if your insurance covered certain medical care expenses that were then paid as part of a judgment or settlement, the insurance company may start a subrogation claim to recover the amount it paid. Again, this may slow down the process, and you may have to wait longer before getting paid.
Reviewing Your Claim Before Settlement Negotiations
The first step to recovering a car accident settlement in Chicago involves assessing the strength of your claim. For your case to succeed, you must be able to prove that your accident occurred because of the defendant’s negligence.
Additionally, you must demonstrate that your injuries were caused by the collision at issue. During your free case assessment, our lawyers can help determine if you have valid grounds to file a car accident lawsuit.
Gathering Evidence to Support Your Car Accident Settlement
The next step involves gathering evidence to support your claims. Multiple forms of evidence may be used to obtain compensation through a car accident case. For instance, the following pieces of evidence may be utilized by our Chicago car accident attorneys:
- Statements from witnesses
- Statements from experts
- Information from your official accident report
- Photos taken at the scene of your collision
- Physical evidence found at the scene of your collision
- Footage from nearby security cameras
- Your personal recollection of your crash
Gathering the information above can be a complicated task. Witnesses can forget important details, and physical evidence can be misplaced. Additionally, parties in control of pertinent information may be reluctant to share it with plaintiffs. Accordingly, support from our Aurora car accident lawyers may be very valuable when accumulating and preserving evidence to support your case.
Filing Your Car Accident Lawsuit
After reviewing your claim and gathering evidence, you must bring your case to court. According to 735 I.L.C.S. § 5/13-202, car crash victims in Chicago will generally have two years from the dates of their accidents to bring their claims to court.
Failure to file your case on time could force you to miss out on the monetary damages you deserve. Thankfully, you can contact our law firm for help filing on time.
Additionally, plaintiffs must file in the appropriate jurisdictions, attach required supporting documents, pay any necessary filing fees, serve each defendant, and ensure they are filing complete claims. The assistance of our attorneys can be highly valuable when seeking to file an effective claim.
Negotiating with Defendants in a Car Accident Settlement
Many defendants attempt to settle car accident claims before they reach trial. When parties to a case reach a settlement agreement, the defendant pays a specific sum of damages to the plaintiff, and their lawsuit is dismissed.
There are multiple advantages to settling before trial. For instance, plaintiffs who reach settlement agreements can save on the costs associated with trying their cases and may obtain payment sooner.
Our Evanston car accident lawyers can negotiate for fair compensation, so that you may receive an adequate settlement offer before trial. Unfortunately, in some cases, defendants will still refuse to compensate victims for the true value of their claims.
If you take your lawsuit to trial, you may be awarded damages that were not offered during settlement negotiations. Fortunately, our team can help decide if settling your case or going to trial is the best choice for you.
Trying Your Car Accident Case
Finally, if a settlement agreement cannot be reached, then you will have to take your car accident lawsuit to trial. Car accident cases can take over a year to resolve at trial. There are several different ways that the process may be extended. You can reach out to our experienced attorneys for help navigating the path to financial compensation.
If You Are Seeking a Car Accident Settlement in Chicago, Our Attorneys Can Help
After sustaining an injury because of a car crash, get help from our Naperville, IL car accident attorneys by calling the Rhatigan Law Offices for a free assessment of your case. Our phone number is (312) 578-8502.
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