It will take time to recover mentally and physically after you’re injured in an accident. If the accident was the fault of another, you could at least file a lawsuit to gain financial compensation. That can be incredibly helpful because personal injuries can leave you with a lot of debt.
Not only will you have to pay for medical treatment. You may also lose income while you recover. You can also receive compensation for the pain and suffering you experience as a result of the accident.
So, with the help of an experienced lawyer, you can potentially receive a settlement to help ease your financial burden and enable you to move forward. However, the length of time it takes to receive compensation will depend on multiple factors. So, receiving a settlement can take a while.
If you’re waiting for an accident settlement, here are some of the key things you should and shouldn’t do.
Don’t Post on Social Media
While there’s no definitive answer to how long your accident settlement takes, you can ensure there are no unforeseen hold-ups or problems that prevent you from receiving your compensation by sticking to the following dos and don’ts.
First off, until the case is closed and you have actually received your settlement, you should stay off social media. You could post something that you think is innocent but ends up harming your case.
For instance, if your lawyer has demonstrated in court how serious your injuries are, and then you post photos of you on vacation, that could be used against you to show your injuries are not as severe as you made out or are even non-existent; in which case, your settlement could be jeopardized.
You should also always be careful about what you post on social media, even after an accident settlement. For instance, social media posts could harm your hiring potential.
Don’t Talk About Your Case
You’re sure to feel like talking about your case, as you’ll be going through a challenging time and will therefore want to get your frustrations out and not bottle things up. However, while the case is going on, you need to ensure that you don’t talk about it.
If you do, you could jeopardize your settlement, as the insurance company or other party’s lawyer could potentially hear something that would damage your case.
Talk to your attorney about your case, but no one else.
Don’t Skip Medical Appointments
If you skip medical appointments, you’ll be sending out conflicting messages and potentially make it look as though your injuries aren’t as bad as you claim. In turn, that could mean your settlement becomes jeopardized.
So, avoid skipping or rescheduling medical appointments.
Do Note Any Changes in Your Condition
If your pain levels change or your condition changes, make sure you make a note of it and let your doctors and attorney know.
Whether your condition or pain levels get better or worse, it’s important to be upfront about it. If you’re not, it could harm your case.
Speaking of pain, your doctor will be able to advise you on treatment for pain relief. But you may also wish to consider an alternative treatment for chronic pain, such as using kratom for pain management.
Do Document All Relevant Communications
While you’re waiting for an accident settlement, it’s important that you document all relevant communications as much as possible because your conversations with doctors and therapists could provide useful evidence in your case.
Do Stay in Contact with Your Lawyer and Insurance Company
As you wait to receive your personal injury settlement, you should keep in continual contact with the principal parties involved: your lawyer and your insurance company.
You may need to provide information to keep the process moving along smoothly, so make sure you’re always available.
Also Read: Don’t Make Accidents After An Accident: 4 Things to Keep in Mind Right After a Car Accident and More
How long does it take to receive a settlement?
As long as you do and don’t do the above things accordingly, you can help not delay your settlement. But first things first.
After you have had an accident that’s resulted in a personal injury, the insurance company may offer you a settlement offer straight away.
You do not need to take that first offer. You could negotiate a better price. You would then have to wait for the insurance adjuster to evaluate your claim.
You may receive a counteroffer after that. In turn, you could send another counteroffer.
During this process, you may also wish to dispute certain facts, which may allow you to negotiate a better settlement amount.
For instance, things like the injuries you received from the accident, the medical treatments you received after the accident, and the length of the treatment.
Such things could be disputed by you or the insurer. In turn, that will delay proceedings more.
Also, determining whether you were partially responsible for the accident that caused your injuries is something that could be disputed by the insurance company.
The process of counteroffers and disputes can go on for some time, depending on the specific circumstances.
Therefore, the length of time it takes to receive a settlement will partially depend on how soon a settlement amount is agreed upon and whether you go to court.
On average, it can take one to two weeks for an insurance company to respond to your initial demand. After that, taking the above factors into account, it can take anywhere between a few weeks and a few months to reach a settlement.
Once the settlement has been agreed upon, it usually takes between two weeks and one month to receive the amount.
Summing Up
Personal injuries not only cause physical pain and discomfort as well as mental anguish. They can also cause huge medical bills.
To help you pay for those bills and receive compensation for everything you’ve been through after an accident that wasn’t your fault, you can claim compensation.
However, to stand the best chance of achieving the best outcome and not cause any delays in reaching a settlement, it’s important that you remember what to do and what not to do.
So, to recap:
- Don’t post on social media.
- Don’t talk about your case.
- Don’t skip medical appointments.
- Do note any changes in your condition.
- Do document all relevant communications.
- Do stay in contact with your lawyer and the insurance company.
