Reasons Why Some Personal Injury Claims Take Longer to Settle than Others

Posted on February 9, 2022 by admin

Every personal injury case is different, especially when it comes to timelines. The length of time an injury case takes to settle will depend on several factors, including the lawyer’s professional ability, congestion in the courts, the at-fault party’s insurance carrier’s reasonableness, the claimant’s reasonableness in deciding to accept or reject a fair offer, and much more. If you are currently involved in a personal injury case, you are likely eager to settle, but you should only settle your case if you are getting full and fair compensation, based upon all the facts of the case.

Continue reading to learn the top three reasons why personal injury claims take time to settle or go to trial, plus who to consult for more answers to your accident case questions.

Indianapolis IN Personal Injury Law Firm 317-881-2700

Top 3 Causes of Accident Claim Delays

Do you feel as if your personal injury claim is taking longer than usual to reach a settlement? Well, before you place the blame on your lawyer or surrender too quickly to a low-ball offer, look at these 3 common reasons that contribute to accident claim delays:

1) Challenging Legal Matters and Disputes

The basis of virtually all personal injury claims comes down to two elements: first, establishing fault by proving negligence, and second, proving the full value of a victim’s damages and losses. If your personal injury case poses convoluted or challenging legal issues, such problems can make a case take longer to resolve. This is typically due to the argument of proving liability.

In a negligence lawsuit, the claimant, or plaintiff party, carries the burden of proving their case. In order to do so, they must provide evidence to establish that the opposing party had a duty of care, breached that duty of care, and as a result, caused an accident that led to serious losses and damages of the victim or to their surviving family.

2) High Settlement Case

If your personal-injury claim is one that involves a significant amount of money in terms of damages and demanded compensation, it can cause the case to drag out a bit longer. When such quantities of money are involved, more negotiations are likely to occur because insurance companies simply won’t payout more than they have to unless they have done their due diligence. An insurance company will investigate a big money case longer for a few reasons, but mostly if they don’t already have a good defense on the claim, or they believe that a claimant’s injuries and damages are not as severe as they have alleged them to be.

3) Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI)

If you are still receiving medical treatment for the injuries you suffered as a result of your wrongful accident, you have not yet reached maximum medical improvement (MMI), the point in which your injuries can no longer be improved. It is important to have patience while receiving medical treatments for the injuries caused by your accident because you could be entitled to further damages, such as permanent disability, loss of consor t ium, loss of companionship, loss of ability to work, future pain and suffering and more. You never want to settle a personal injury claim until you have reached maximum medical improvement. This way, you can ensure that you are given a settlement that covers all your losses and damages, both past and future.

Our law firm does not get paid until we obtain a settlement or verdict for you. That being the case, we strive to obtain a settlement or verdict as quickly as possible for our clients, but with the understanding that the settlement must be full and fair, based upon all the evidence for the case. Contact the Law Office of Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 to schedule a free initial case evaluation with a skilled civil litigator and discuss your pending personal injury lawsuit in Indianapolis, Indiana. We represent injured persons throughout the state of Indiana.

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Is it Better to Settle an Accident Claim Out of Court in Indiana?

Posted on October 2, 2020 by admin

There is a reason why most personal injury lawsuits are settled before ever having to go to trial. In fact, there is more than one reason why. Not only are trials very expensive, they can be extremely stressful and even more unpredictable in terms of liability and damages. Also, trials are not private, and they can sometimes last for years. In most cases, especially for minor accidents and injuries, settling out of court is quicker, cheaper, and less risky.

However, this does not mean that all injury claims are better settled out of court. Sometimes, depending on the circumstances, a trial is the better, or necessary, route to take. It is important to discuss the recommended strategy for your personal injury claim with an experienced accident lawyer who can provide experience based knowledge for what’s best for your case.

Continue reading to learn more about the advantages to settling an accident claim out of court, as well as, how to get started on your personal injury claim.

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Going to Court is Never the Cheaper Course of Action

Trials are expensive. And although your personal injury lawyer probably works on a contingency-fee basis, it is still something that can still hold back your final settlement after you receive your compensation. In most contingency-fee arrangements, the attorney receives 33% of any pre-trial settlement and then 40% of any compensation awarded once the trial begins. The client then receives the remainder after any expenses and subrogation or lien claims are paid. Not all contingency arrangements are done this way although the vast majority are; it differs among law firms. By avoiding court, the plaintiff can avoid paying high expenses in having to pay expert witnesses when going to court.

As for defendants, there is no contingency-fee basis. In almost all cases, the defendant’s insurance company must hire a lawyer who gets paid by the hour or the defendant’s attorney is an employee of the insurance company.

Trials Can Be Stressful and Cumbersome

Not just the trial itself, but the weeks leading up to the trial can also be very stressful for a person and their loved ones. Both the plaintiff and the defendant can be subjected to invasive examinations and cross-examinations, and in a public arena.

Trial Outcomes Cannot Always Be Well Predicted

Although today’s legal system is set up in a way that takes surprises out of the trial process, they can still pose a long list of potential unexpected occurrences that influence the final outcome of a settlement. For instance, key evidence may be excluded from trial by the judge, new testimony can come out on the witness stand, key witnesses may sound unreliable or not show up at trial, and more.

Aside from all these potential unpredictable possibilities, the amount of compensation recovered is up to the jury. This means a plaintiff can be awarded much more or much less than the parties expected. Out of court, the plaintiff party and the defendant party have control over the negotiation of recompense.

What to Do as an Accident Victim in Indiana

If you or someone you loved has been hurt in a serious accident as a result of negligence by a company, person, or entity, you may be entitled to legal compensation. Get started on a path to justice and full and fair compensation, right now. Call an experienced Indianapolis personal injury law firm to speak to a legal representative about your recent injury or accident.

Indianapolis Indiana Personal Injury Attorneys Who Won’t Back Down to the Insurance Companies

Call the law office of Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 to file a personal injury claim in Indiana. We are seasoned personal injury attorneys who want nothing more than to recover the full and fair compensation for accident victims across Indiana. We offer free initial consultations and never collect lawyer fees unless we prevail for you. Call 317-881-2700 and get started as soon as today.

Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyers 317-881-2700 — Schedule a Free Consultation!

When Will the Settlement Negotiations Begin for My Accident Claim?

Posted on May 5, 2020 by admin

When you are injured in an accident that was not your fault, it is important to hire a personal injury lawyer to represent you in your claim because they have the knowledge and resources to ensure you recover a full settlement from the insurance company. One of the most crucial stages of the personal injury claim process is settlement negotiations. During this time, your legal team will go back and forth with the insurance company until they have reached a fair settlement. If no settlement is reached, then a jury will decide the case. What many personal injury claimants are eager to know, however, is when their settlement negotiations will begin. As an accident victim, you might be wondering this, too.

Continue reading to find out what to expect surrounding your potential accident claim negotiations.

The Start of Settlement Negotiations

Normally, a demand letter is not sent to the defense until the injured person has completed their treatment or until the person has reached maximum medical improvement, meaning no further care will make the injured person better. Of course, part of a demand includes providing all relevant medical records, medical bills and lost wage documentation, as well as possibly obtaining expert witness and physician reports in some cases.

Once the opposing party’s insurance adjuster receives the demand letter, written by your personal injury lawyer, the settlement negotiations can begin. Such negotiations will take place among you, the insurance adjuster, and your legal team, however, your lawyers will speak on your behalf. Although an insurance adjuster will usually call you within one to two weeks of receiving the demand letter, the first document you will likely receive after sending it is a Reservations of Rights letter.

Demand Letters and Reservations of Rights Letters

A Reservations of Rights letter is an official document sent by the insurance company to let you know they have received your demand letter and have decided to begin investigating the claim, but they reserve the right to not pay you anything if it turns out that the accident is not covered under the particular policy. See our blog, “The Difference Between a Reservations of Rights Letter and a Demand Letter” to learn more about these two important documents.

When Adjusters Do Not Respond

In some cases, insurance adjusters can take some time to get back to claimants. This is usually a result of being busy with other cases, or needing time to study the claim and review all the medical records. If they do not get back to you within 4 weeks of sending your demand letter, your lawyers to take action by contacting the claims department. If a specific date still cannot be set for the adjuster to respond to the demand letter, your lawyers might decide to go above their head and contact their supervisors.

How to Get Help With Your Indiana Accident Claim

Call the Law office of Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 to discuss your potential personal injury claim with licensed Indianapolis accident attorneys you can trust. Our law firm offers free initial consultations and never collect lawyer fees unless we recover a settlement or judgment for you. We represent clients throughout the State of Indiana. Be sure to get started on learning more about your claim soon, before the Indiana statute of limitations runs out! The sooner you retain us, the sooner we can start collecting the evidence necessary to prove your case and before that evidence is lost.

Do I Have to Pay Taxes on My Personal Injury Settlement?

Posted on April 10, 2020 by admin

Are you wondering whether or not your personal injury settlement is taxable? This is an important question to ask since sometimes the answer is yes. However, it is more common for recipients of personal injury settlements to not have to pay state or federal taxes on the amount they are awarded following the conclusion of a case. Continue reading to learn more, particularly as it relates to Indiana law.

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General Rule of Personal Injury Payouts

Personal injury settlements are awarded to compensate victims for their damages and losses. Because of this, the general rule of thumb applied to personal injury payouts and income tax is that recipients do not have to pay taxes on the compensation they recover in a case. Yet, as with all things in life, there are always exceptions to the rule. Sometimes, personal injury compensation is taxable.

Taxable Settlements

Regardless of whether compensation is recovered in or out of court, so long as the recipient’s settlement is awarded to compensate for physical illnesses and injuries, their gross income is excluded from being taxed under the federal income tax code. As for state tax codes, they simply follow suit with federal tax codes, which means a personal injury settlement is exempt from being taxed by the state as well. You can get detailed information about this at IRS.gov.

Non-Injurious Compensation

For those who are awarded personal injury compensation for punitive damages, recipients are not typically exempt from paying state or federal tax. Punitive damages, also known as exemplary damages, are not intended to compensate a victim for the loss of their quality of life. Instead, they are meant to punish the at-fault party, as well as, set a public example and deter the particular type of gross negligence involved in the accident. See our blog, “What are Punitive Damages in a Personal Injury Lawsuit?” to learn more about the types of damages awarded in a personal injury case.

Although recipients of compensation for punitive damages must pay taxes on their settlement, they are allowed to deduct attorney fees from this amount. For instance, if a personal injury victim is awarded $100,000 and their lawyer uses the 1/3 contingency fee payment arrangement, they could deduct $33,333.33 from their settlement amount, leaving only $66,666.67 to be taxed.

✏ Compensation for Physical Injuries and Illness – NOT TAXABLE
✏ Compensation for Non-Physical Injuries –TAXABLE

Our Trusted Indiana Personal Injury Lawyers Are Here For You

Call Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 to learn more about recovering compensation through a personal injury claim, wrongful death claim or medical malpractice claim in Indiana. You can schedule a free consultation with an experienced Indianapolis accident attorney who can determine the best strategies for your Indiana personal injury case. Not only does our law firm offer free consultations, we never collect lawyer fees unless we prevail for you! We represent injured persons throughout Indiana, as well as the surviving dependents in wrongful death and medical malpractice cases.

Craven, Hoover, & Blazek P.C.

Tag Archives: Claim Settlements