Just about every car accident victim wonders the same thing: how long will it take to settle my claim?
Regardless of the type of injury, circumstances of the car accident, or even the state the issue is being handled in, most car accident victims have the same question in mind: How long will it take to settle my claim?
It’s understandable. Car accident victims are often left with a great financial burden after a car accident. There are medical bills to pay, subsequent treatment, repairing the car, and if the injury has made you lose your job, it can be even harder to sit around and wait to get your compensation.
Unfortunately, it’s difficult to know exactly how long a car accident claim takes to settle. Many different factors can affect it. Let’s look at a typical timeline of such claims to understand what the process entails.
The Accident, Getting Help, Filing a Claim
After the car accident, it’s important to get medical attention at once (it will help your claim later on). However, if the injuries are severe, you may have to remain in the hospital until the doctor’s discharge, which can either be an overnight stay or it could potentially last weeks.
In Missouri, you can file a compensation claim for car accident injuries even up to five years after the date of the accident. However, the longer you wait, the less evidence there may be to use to support your claim.
Discussing the Terms
After the claim is filed, the process of discussing the claim begins. The insurance company will carefully review your claim, and conduct its investigation into the matter. In your claim, you will be asking for compensation for particular expenses, which can be:
- Medical expenses
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Other costs you had to bear because of the accident
This is where the process will most likely drag on, because the insurance company wants to pay you less, while you want to get as much as possible, of course. There will be a lot of back and forth about the facts of the car accident, and whether or not you were partly to blame. With evidence, you can refute these accusations.
The biggest issue that can drag this process has to do with your medical expenses. Unless you have finished with all the required treatment, or have reached a point where your condition can no longer improve, then you will ask for the amount you’ve lost for the treatment. However, if you still have to undergo therapy, surgery, or treatment, then you’ll need to estimate how much that’s going to cost and add it to the claim.
The insurance company can disagree, and another back and forth starts.
What Should You Do?
There are some ways to speed up this process, and it starts with speaking with a St. Louis car accident lawyer. They can negotiate with the insurance company and ensure you get the compensation you are legally entitled to. Call The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C. 24/7 at (314) 361-4242 for a FREE consultat