Handle All Types Of Personal Injury Cases

Once a release has been signed, the insurance company is legally obligated to write you a check for your settlement amount. The check should be received by your attorney’s office within one month. The check must then be held in your attorney’s escrow account until it clears. At that point, any liens from medical providers or insurance companies will be paid, your attorney’s fees will be paid, and then you will be paid what is remaining.

It is important to note that a settlement may take a longer time, if you are still in the process of being treated for your injuries. Settling your personal injury case before you have reached what is called the point of maximum medical improvement can be a mistake. It is always recommend to wait until you are at maximum medical improvement before settling your case. This allows you and your lawyer to put an appropriate value on your damages. If you are still being medically treated for your injuries, there is no way to know or express to the insurance company whether or not you will be able to fully recover from your injuries. If you accept a settlement before you reach maximum medical improvement, you may not end up being compensated for any of your additional medical expenses, your possibly permanent disability, your lost wages, or your pain and suffering, in the future.

As a first step, the insurance company will require you to sign a release, which officially settles your claim. In this release, you will agree that you are giving up your future right to sue this person, these people, or this company, who are responsible for your injuries and the resulting damages. When the insurance company receives the signed release, then you will receive the agreed-upon sum of money, as an exchange for giving up the rights to your claim.

Whether or not to take a case to trial is a deep, personal decision that each client must make with the advice of their attorney. Some factors to consider are how well documented your injury and medical treatments are and the other side’s willingness to negotiate a settlement.

When an insurance company is involved, which is most of the time, personal injury cases will nearly always reach a settlement. Insurance companies are, ultimately, a business. They have more than enough money to pay out claims and are required to do so in many cases. It is also very expensive for an insurance company to go all the way to trial. There are very large legal fees, regardless of the outcome, so they may have to pay for a trial and still pay damages in the end.

Usually, the insurance company would rather be able to at least have some say in the amount of the settlement than leave it in the hands of a quite sympathetic jury, which has the power to award very large pain and suffering or punitive damages to the plaintiff. Settlements can also benefit the defendant more than judgments, if there is any reason they would prefer to stay out of the public eye. Many companies will offer addition money to a plaintiff, in exchange for the plaintiff agreeing to keep the details of the claim and the settlement private.

Settling a personal injury lawsuit outside of court can provide several distinct advantages for both the plaintiff and the defendant, in many cases. For both parties, the process of going all the way to trial can be lengthy, exhausting, and expensive. Very often, a case won’t even get to a trial until a year or more after the initial claim was filed. The trial itself may then take months or even years.

About Attorney: The personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Robert E. Brown, PC will work diligently and passionately to obtain justice for those who have been wronged. They know how to navigate the legal system in Staten Island, formulate the best arguments, present the most compelling evidence, and ultimately obtain the highest settlements or jury awards for their clients.