If you are injured by another party or while you’re at work, you probably have two big things on your mind – your recovery and your compensation options. You can go to a doctor, get a diagnosis and get a rough estimate on how long it will take you to make a full recovery, but when you may receive compensation isn’t as simple. In today’s blog, we examine which factors play a role in how quickly your injury case will resolve.
How Long Until I Get My Injury Settlement Check?
As you might have guessed, insurance companies didn’t become massive corporations by paying out every injury claim that comes across their desk at the maximum amount. They are going to do their due diligence, and this can add weeks and even months to your claim’s process.
So while there is no specific timeline that we can point to and say that the insurance company must have your settlement to you by XX days from when they receive your claim, there are some factors that can influence how quickly you can expect to receive an award. Some of those factors include:
Complexity – Sometimes a case is very basic. You fell off a ladder at work, witnesses can verify your claim, and you’re not expected to have any permanent damage. These cases often result in a quick and fair settlement offer from the insurance company. On the flip side, if a case is complex and involves a number of long-term considerations, expect it to take much longer.
Award Amount – Similarly, you can expect the insurance company to be a little quicker in issuing a check for a $2,000 claim than a $200,000 claim. In general, the more money that is involved, the longer you can expect the case to take.
Having A Lawyer – Having a lawyer helps you file all the paperwork correctly and provide a strong case so you’re not consistently going back and forth with the insurance company over missed forms or questions with your case. A lawyer not only helps to speed up the process, but they can ensure that any settlement offer you receive is fair. You don’t want to end your case quickly because you took a low offer, so sync up with an attorney.
Disputes – If the insurance company disputes part or all of your claim, it’s going to cause delays for your award. Again, this is why it’s so important to have a lawyer by your side to ensure your story is credible and airtight when submitting it to the insurance company.
Permanent Injuries – When injuries are expected to fully resolve, it’s pretty easy for an insurance company and your lawyer to develop an equation to calculate for things like medical bills and lost wages which will end at some point. However, if you will need years of physical therapy or will never fully recover, it is a little harder to predict the totality of your award amount. This can delay your payment award.
Some of these factors are out of your control, but others, like having a lawyer by your side, can really help to speed up your injury case. If you’d like to have a lawyer working to get you the biggest settlement possible, reach out to the experienced team of injury lawyers at Hey Workers today.
