The Timeline of a Car Crash Injury Case

When you see an out-of-control car barreling towards yours, it can feel like time has slowed to a crawl. Unfortunately, sometimes time can continue to move at what seems like a glacial pace after a traffic collision as well, especially if you’ve suffered serious injuries that require expensive medical care and keep you from working in the meantime.

No two auto accident claims are exactly alike, and stages of the case process that pass by in days for one person may drag on for weeks, months, or even years for someone else. With that said, here’s a basic overview of what the timeline of a car crash injury case looks like in general, so you can have at least a broad idea of what you’d be in for while pursuing compensation for a wreck another person caused.

Gathering Evidence and Receiving Treatment

In the days immediately following a wreck, you—or, ideally, legal counsel assisting you—will need to collect and preserve as much evidence as possible which you could use to establish how your crash happened, including medical bills and records, police accident reports, witness statements, and more. You should also be seeking professional medical care and following all instructions from your physicians both at this point and throughout your entire claim.

Filing an Initial Insurance Claim

Different insurance companies have different rules for when claims should be filed after wrecks. Generally speaking, though, you’ll want to be prepared to start the claims process no more than 30 days after your actual accident.

Allowing the Insurance Company to Investigate

Once you’ve filed an insurance claim over a wreck, the insurance company will conduct its own investigation into the incident to determine who they believe was at fault and what financial compensation they may owe you as a result. This stage of the process can vary dramatically in length depending on the circumstances, but you shouldn’t be surprised if it lasts for several weeks or even a couple months.

Negotiating for a Settlement

Once the insurance company concludes their investigation and responds to your claim, you’ll enter negotiations with them to discuss settlement terms. The best answer for how long this will take is “as long as it takes to get a fair offer,” but if you can’t reach a settlement agreement at all and want to continue the recovery process in the form of a civil lawsuit, you’ll need to file suit before your state’s “statute of limitations” expires.

Reach Out to Our Firm If You Have Questions About the Timeline of Your Car Accident Case

The timeline for a car accident injury claim which progresses into a civil lawsuit can change even more drastically from case to case, so it’s worth discussing what you should expect from your unique claim with a qualified legal professional.

Call Lowenthal & Abrams to schedule a meeting with one of our experienced auto accident attorneys.