How Long Do Most Car Accident Settlements Take?

November 4, 2024 | By Colombo Law

Obtaining a car accident settlement takes time. How long it will take, exactly, depends on several different factors. These include the seriousness of your injuries, the extent of the damages you are facing, the availability of evidence, and the willingness of the insurance companies to negotiate.

Car accidents can happen in the blink of an eye. One moment you are driving down the road or waiting at a stoplight, the next you are facing injuries, vehicle damage, and a flood of complicated questions.

One of the biggest questions is how long it will take to recover fair compensation. Unfortunately, just like the time it takes to heal from your injuries, the process of getting a car accident settlement will take much longer than the split second in which the crash occurred.

An experienced West Virginia car accident lawyer can review the details of your claim and give you a better idea of what to expect. Call Colombo Law at 304-599-4229 to discuss your case for FREE. We serve clients in Morgantown and throughout West Virginia.

What Is a Car Accident Settlement?

A car accident settlement is an agreement between an injured party and an insurance company to forgo legal action for a fixed sum. If the injured party accepts the insurance company’s settlement offer, they will no longer be able to file a lawsuit against the negligent party for additional compensation.

Fully understanding your rights and calculating all damages is critical before accepting an offer to settle. Insurance companies usually provide accident victims with lowball settlement offers that are far less than their claims are actually worth. If you accept the offer, that is all the compensation you will be able to receive.

When calculating compensation, you should make sure to consider all of your economic and non-economic damages. These include:

Medical bills, including long-term costs associated with your injuries
Lost wages, including any impact your injuries have on your long-term earning potential
Pain and suffering and other non-economic damages, such as loss of enjoyment of life

An experienced car accident lawyer can help make sure you are not leaving money on the table and the settlement provides maximum compensation for your losses.

How Long Before an Insurance Company Offers a Settlement?

Generally, you should expect a settlement offer shortly after you submit your claim—unless the insurance company decides to deny your claim outright. In West Virginia, insurance companies typically have 30-40 days to pay or deny a claim. However, if more information is required, it can extend the timeline.

While the insurance company may need more information to process your claim, you should be wary of certain requests:

Providing a recorded statement: The insurance company may scrutinize these statements to compare with the police report or other sources to identify inconsistencies.
Giving the insurer access to medical records: Insurance companies may claim that pre-existing conditions are to blame, at least partially, for damages in the car accident, even if that is not the case.

You are not required to comply with either of these requests and, in most cases, you should not. Insurance companies will routinely use these tactics and others to find ways of denying your claim or lessening your damages.

How Long Does It Take to Reach a Settlement in a Lawsuit?

While out-of-court settlement negotiations can take time, a lawsuit can take much longer—often several months, if not more than a year. This is due largely to the bureaucratic legal processes that are necessary in lawsuits, including:

Scheduling court dates
Discovery
Trial preparation
And more

While the duration of lawsuits is not ideal for accident victims, it is an important option to consider if the insurance company refuses to offer a fair settlement.

Why Is My Settlement Check Taking So Long?

After a settlement is agreed upon, it may take some additional time before you receive the funds. In most cases, this is due to liens related to your personal injury claim.

Liens are claims by third parties on the proceeds of a car accident settlement. They may include:

Medical liens
Health insurance liens
Workers’ compensation liens
And more

Once these bills are paid, along with your attorney’s fees, you will then receive your settlement check.

What If My Case Doesn’t Settle?

If your case does not settle out of court (either because the insurance company denied your claim or you are unable to reach a settlement agreement), filing a lawsuit may be your only option. While litigation can take longer and involves more risk than negotiating a settlement, it is still an important option for accident victims who have viable claims.

This is also why it is important to work with a car accident attorney who is willing to take your case to court. Some accident lawyers only settle claims outside of court, meaning they may not be able to represent you effectively at trial.

Get the Colombo Advantage

Contact Colombo Law Today

At Colombo Law, we understand the uncertainty and frustration that can come with a car accident claim. Dealing with all of this simply because of someone else’s negligence is not fair. But make no mistake, insurance companies do not have your best interests in mind, and while the legal system provides an avenue for recovering compensation, it is not automatically on your side, either. Instead, you must be able to prove what you deserve and fight for your rights.

That is why we are here. While the accident cannot be undone, we can aggressively pursue the car accident settlement you deserve to right the wrong that was done. Better yet, we do not charge our clients a penny unless and until we recover compensation for them.

If your accident was in Morgantown or anywhere else in the state of West Virginia, get started today by contacting our car accident lawyers for a FREE case review.