Of the thousands of car accident injury and personal injury claims that we have handled at Moore Law Firm through our 25 years of representing car accident injury and personal injury victims, the #1 question most of our clients have is, “How long is all this going to take?”
Not understanding the injury claim process is normal as nearly 93% of our clients have actually never hired a lawyer before and 98% have never needed to hire a personal injury lawyer in the past.
Unfortunately, there is no end-all answer as every car accident or personal injury case is different. How fast or slow your injury claim is resolved really all depends on a few factors in your case which are:
- The severity of your injuries – Any skilled car accident lawyer or personal injury lawyer understands that your injury claim doesn’t just cover your initial treatment in the emergency room, but your recovery, any wages you may have lost while you were injured, and any loss of quality of life such as a permanent disability.
- The strength of your injury case – Disagreements about who was at fault for the car accident or injury as well as disagreements of whether your injuries are from the incident could delay the claim further; Understand, however, that this is only one factor of multiple other factors; even if your injury claim is a “slam-dunk” it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to be resolved quickly.
- The insurance carrier – Not all insurance carriers negotiate the same way. Some insurance carriers like to play hardball with your injury claim by running out as much time as possible while other carriers will fold fairly easily.
To understand just how long your car accident or your injury case may take, it’s best to understand the process in which your car accident injury or personal injury claim will be handled by our office.
The Moore Law Firm Car Accident Injury – Personal Injury Process
Phase 1: Client Medical Treatment – Immediately after you have signed a power of attorney with Moore Law Firm, we immediately will set you up with appointments to see medical providers in your area. The severity and types of injuries you have suffered will determine which medical providers we will assign over to you. These medical providers are trusted partners of Moore Law Firm and are experts in assisting attorneys with the necessary information for injury claims. Your responsibility as our client is to attend all scheduled appointments with these medical providers to ensure that your injury claim is strong.
Phase 2: Investigation – While you are treating and recovering from your injuries, our car accident and personal injury paralegals and administrators will begin thoroughly investigating your case, contacting local police departments, witnesses, and collecting your medical records to begin building out your injury case.
Phase 3: Pre-Litigation/Negotiation – After enough documentation has been gathered for your case, our team will reach out to the insurance carrier who is responsible for paying your claim and provide them with a document called a “demand” that states how much we are asking for your injuries, which takes into account the cost of all of your medical treatment and any other damages such as lost wages and permanent disabilities. It is at this point where our team and the insurance carrier will go back and forth in negotiating your injury claim.
Phase 4: Litigation – If the negotiations for your injury claim breakdown and we are unable to acquire a settlement that we feel you deserve for your injuries, your case will move into the litigation phase, which means filing a lawsuit with the court. This phase can be fairly lengthy as the case is now at the mercy of how back-logged our Texas courts are at the time. Within litigation, there are a variety of events that occur such as discovery, mediations, depositions, all of which may lead up to a trial. Also, depending on the result of the trial, your injury case may still be subject to further appeals and other delays. However, even if an injury claim has moved into the litigation phase, negotiations may still continue and a settlement may still be reached, even in the middle of a trial.
What To Do While Your Injury Lawyer Is Working On Your Car Accident or Personal Injury Claim
- Always Return Our Phone Calls – If we are attempting to reach out to you, it will always be in regards to your injury claim. At every phase of the car accident injury – personal injury process, it is important that you keep an open line of communication with us as it may mean the success or failure of your injury claim.
- DO NOT Speak To Anyone Regarding Your Injury Claim/Case – You may receive phone calls from the insurance company asking you for what may seem like harmless information. DO NOT SPEAK TO THESE PEOPLE as you will likely be on a recorded line and anything you tell them could be used against you to harm your injury claim. Either simply ignore the phone call or tell them that they can speak to your injury attorney. All of these calls MUST be reported to Moore Law Firm immediately.
- Attend All of Your Scheduled Medical Provider Appointments – This is probably the most important responsibility for our injury clients. If you do not attend your scheduled medical provider appointments, you could literally lose THOUSANDS, TENS of THOUSANDS in your injury claim. If you are unable to attend a scheduled appointment, reach out to our offices so that we may reschedule the appointment or find accommodation for you.
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Call The McAllen Injury Lawyers At Moore Law Firm Today!
Whether you need an experienced McAllen car accident lawyer or a strong McAllen personal injury lawyer, contact the McAllen injury lawyers at Moore Law Firm today!
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