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Personal injury lawyers frequently hear this question from a client: How long will I have to wait until my car accident case gets resolved? The claim process makes it hard to provide the client asking that question with a definite span of time.
The length of the recovery from the injury represents one factor that determines the time it takes to resolve the case. The patient ought to follow the treatment protocol that was specified by the treatment physician. While recovering, the patient/plaintiff can talk with a lawyer about witness statements. In addition, the 2 of them can study all the collected documents.
After the patient/plaintiff has reached the point of maximum medical improvement, negotiations can begin. During the negotiations both sides make offers and counter-offers. Ideally, the 2 sides will eventually agree on one particular figure. That agreement represents a position in which the 2 sides are ready to settle. Sometimes the negotiations do not lead to a settlement. In that case, the plaintiff may decide to file a lawsuit against the insurance company. That increases the amount of time that must pass before the car accident gets resolved.
Pre-trial procedures
The plaintiff’s lawyer asks for the documents from the insurance company. The insurance company gets to look at the plaintiff’s evidence. That takes place in a discovery session. During the discovery session, the Personal Injury Lawyer in Hamilton get to depose the witnesses. The court recorder keeps a record of each witness’ testimony. Later, both lawyers have access to that recorded information.
At any point during the discovery process, the judge stands ready to suspend the process, so that the disputing parties can reach a settlement. If that happens, then the disputed incident, perhaps a car accident, gets resolved before a trail has started.
If there is a trial
There is no limit on the amount of time taken by a trail. Still, the judge will impose certain deadlines on both parties. That helps to keep the trial moving along. During the trial the each of the lawyers makes a presentation and then questions the witnesses. At any point, one lawyer might object to the questions being posed by the other party’s lawyer. When that happens, the judge could call for consultation in his or her chambers.
During that consultation, the judge again stands ready to accommodate a period when an agreement might be reached. That could bring the trial to a quick end. It would also shorten the time during which both sides must wait for a resolution of their dispute. If no agreement is reached in the judge’s chambers, the dispute is only settled when the jury gives its verdict. Still, the other side could decide to appeal the decision.