Why is My Car Accident Settlement Taking So Long?
With South Carolina experiencing over 34,000 injury collisions in a recent year, insurance carriers are inundated with accident claims. There is no knowing how long a car accident settlement may take, with some cases settling in as little as a few weeks and others taking over a year. This timeline depends upon several factors, which can end up prolonging the time it takes to receive your settlement check.
If you have recently been in a car accident, our Charleston car accident attorney is prepared to help you recover maximum compensation for your injuries.
The Complexity of Your Case
If multiple parties are involved or if the accident itself is not straightforward, this can extend your settlement deadline. When cases are complex, determining liability becomes difficult. If an insurance company cannot discern which driver caused the crash, then damages cannot be recovered by either party.
Your Length of Recovery
The more severe your injuries, the greater the likelihood that your medical treatment will be prolonged. In some cases, someone who suffers a pelvic fracture in a car crash may need multiple surgeries to stabilize the break. Oftentimes, a person with a pelvic fracture may have other internal injuries requiring further treatment. Post-surgery, a person may need months of physical therapy, prolonging the individual’s recovery.
How Long It Takes to Reach MMI
Before settling your car accident case, you will want to reach maximum medical improvement (MMI). This is the point at which you will no longer make any meaningful recovery. MMI is determined by your treating physician. Once you reach MMI, it will be easier to estimate your future medical expenses, loss of future earnings, and other damages.
Gathering of Medical Bills, Lost Wages, and Other Expenses
As the injured party, you will need to gather evidence of your losses. This will include your medical expenses, lost wages, and even repairs to your vehicle. Someone who has suffered severe injuries will have a greater number of medical bills and pay stubs that will need to be submitted to insurance.
Your primary duty following a car crash should be healing, not collecting documentation. When you work with Attorney Robert Wyndham, you do not need to stress over providing the necessary documentation to insurance or missing a claims deadline. With over 30 years of successfully representing crash victims, our Charleston car accident attorney is ready to advocate for you.
Negotiating with Insurance
This process of gathering evidence of your losses is time-consuming. Once your demand package is submitted, then you need to give a claims adjuster time to comb through the information to make a determination regarding liability. Under South Carolina law, insurance companies are not given a specific timeline to acknowledge, approve, or even pay on a claim but must settle each case with “reasonable promptness.”
Even if you have submitted all the necessary information, a claims adjuster may ask for additional information. These further delays the process. Sometimes, the request is a tactic to draw out the settlement timeline, but in other situations, further information may be needed for an adjuster to make a decision. You should never attempt to speak with the insurance company on your own; that is best left to an experienced Charleston car accident attorney.
Reach Out to a Charleston Car Accident Attorney Today
At Wyndham Law Firm, we understand the distress that comes with a personal injury, and we will not rest until you recover the compensation that is rightfully yours. If you recently suffered injuries in a collision, you understandably want to receive your settlement to pay for any accident-related expenses. If you are looking for a firm that has ample experience speaking with the insurance company, you have come to the right place. To set up your free consultation and learn more, call us or complete our online contact form.