Car accident lawsuits serve to compensate victims for damages they sustained because of their crashes. In order for your car accident claim to succeed, you have to 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 there are several factors that 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 Length of Time it Takes to Settle Your Chicago Car Accident Case
There are multiple circumstances that 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 and length of time it takes to recover from them
- Questions as to which driver is at fault
- The insurance company’s level of cooperation
- Litigation
Therefore, it can be difficult to predict that amount of time it takes for you to obtain a car accident settlement. You can contact our Lincoln Park car accident lawyers for help determining how the aforementioned factors will play a role in resolving your claim.
What is the Process for Obtaining Payment in a Chicago Car Accident Settlement?
There are multiple steps that should be taken to obtain payment in a car accident settlement. Our experienced Chicago car accident attorneys can help guide you through each of the following stages of the legal process:
Reviewing Your Claim
The first step to recovering a car accident settlement in Chicago involves assessing the strength of your claim. In order 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 Claims
The next step involves gathering evidence to support your claims. There are multiple forms of evidence that 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 remembrance of your crash
Gathering the aforementioned information can be a complicated task. Witnesses can forget important details and physical evidence can be misplaced. Additionally, parties in control or 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 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
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 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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