After a wreck with a semi truck that wasn’t your fault, you could be interested in taking legal action to hold the responsible party accountable for what they’ve done to you. That can be difficult if you’re not sure who caused the collision and can be difficult even if you do have an idea of who was at fault.
When you decide to file a truck accident claim, you could be hesitant for many reasons, including being intimidated about going up against a larger company. Another reason could be that you’re not sure how long it will take to settle your claim. Since you could be relying on the settlement to help you financially recover from the accident, you should know how long truck accident claims usually take to settle.
Truck Wreck Claim General Timeline
It’s understandable that you would want to know how long your legal claim against a negligent truck driver, trucking company, or another party could take to settle—you have medical bills, repair costs, lost wages, and plenty of other bills to worry about right now. Because of that, you might not want to hear that personal injury claims, including large truck accident claims, usually aren’t settled quickly.
One of your first questions to your truck accident lawyer is probably about how long it will take for your case to settle and for you to get your settlement. If your lawyer gives you an exact date and promises it to be settled by then, they are not the representation you need because they are being dishonest. Sure, they can give an estimate of how long it will take based on previous cases of theirs that were similar, but they shouldn’t give you an exact date because there’s no way of knowing for sure.
Typically, personal injury claims take a while to resolve because there is so much involved with them, but cases where a tractor trailer collided with another vehicle can take even longer because there can be so much more involved in the legal process. At first, the insurance company representing the trucker or the trucking company will push you to settle quickly. Even though you want it all done quickly, that offer is usually much less than you deserve.
That’s why you should hire a lawyer to represent you through your claim. Your case will take longer, and will likely take months or more to settle, but you won’t settle for less than you deserve. Your attorney will make sure that your rights are protected by being thorough with your claim. Even though it will take longer, you know it will be done correctly and you get justice for what happened to you.
For a legal consultation, call 612-349-2729
Factors that Affect Time Length
The reason a semi truck accident claim takes longer than regular personal injury claims is that these kinds of crashes can be more complex. More often than not, they are also more catastrophic in the injuries and damages that they cause. Here are some of the reasons that your case could take longer than a few months to be resolved:
- Investigation into Liability. As one of the first steps in your claim, your attorney will work toward proving who was liable through a full investigation of the accident. This can take a while to determine because there are so many different parties who could be responsible for what happened, like the trucker, or the trucking company, part manufacturers, or other drivers.
- Severity of Injuries and Damages. 18 wheelers are much larger than regular vehicles on the road, which means that the injuries and other damages that wrecks with them cause are more severe than in other accidents. Your medical bills, treatment costs, prescriptions, repair costs, lost wages, and future medical bills and lost wages can all be included and will be used toward determining what you’re owed. However, this is a lot to compile, which is why it can cause more time.
- Insurance Companies. No matter who was at fault, you will likely be mainly dealing with their insurance provider in the legal claim. Insurance companies typically don’t want to pay what the victim is fully owed, which can make the process drag out longer.
- Negotiations. In order to prevent your claim from being even longer, your attorney will try to settle out of court. That will lead to negotiations between you and the other party, which can go back and forth for a while and take time. If those don’t work out, then your case will keep going and will go to court.
Madia Law LLC Is Here for You
As mentioned above, hiring a lawyer will make your truck accident claim take longer to settle, but it’s well worth the time because your rights will be protected and you will get full and fair compensation for what you suffered with their help. You shouldn’t go through a claim alone. Our Minneapolis truck accident lawyer from Madia Law LLC is prepared to handle the legal side of things for you so that you can feel confident in your claim. Reach out to us today so that we can discuss your options.
Call 612-349-2729 or complete a Case Evaluation form