How Long Does it Take to Get A Brooklyn Personal Injury Settlement Check?

Posted in Personal Injury on August 20, 2022

Receiving a settlement check after an accident or personal injury can seem to take forever. However, the timeline for a Brooklyn personal injury settlement depends on several factors.

It could take several months to a year to settle a personal injury claim. It all depends on the unique facts and circumstances of your case. To get a better idea of the timeline, it helps to understand the factors that impact settlement.

What Factors Can Delay a Personal Injury Settlement Check?

A minor car accident claim with no serious or permanent injuries could be resolved within a few weeks to a couple of months after you complete medical treatment. You could expect your money about 30 days after signing a settlement agreement.

However, many factors can delay or slow down the settlement process in a personal injury case. Some factors impact what should be a simple claim to settle. It sometimes depends solely on whether the insurance company is reasonable and cooperative.

Factors that could slow down the settlement process in a personal injury case include:

Allegations of failure to mitigate damages, contributory fault, and pre-existing conditions by the insurance provider
The type and severity of your injuries
The duration of your recovery
Whether causation and fault for the cause of the injury are disputed
The length of time required to complete the claims investigation
The parties involved in the injury case
Whether you need to hire expert witnesses to assist with the case

An experienced attorney will work diligently to settle your personal injury claim as quickly as possible.

However, they’ll be mindful of the fact that rushing to settle an accident claim could result in a much lower settlement amount. Therefore, your lawyer will work to settle the claim for the total value of damages while doing everything possible to avoid delays.

Timeline for a Brooklyn Personal Injury Settlement Check

When you file a claim after an injury or accident, the insurance company assigns an adjuster to your claim. The insurance adjuster investigates the claim to gather evidence of liability and damages.

If the insurance company doesn’t dispute fault, the next step is negotiating a settlement amount. However, suppose the insurance company disputes liability for the claim. Then, your lawyer must work to convince the insurance company that it is liable for your damages based on the evidence your attorney supplies to the insurance company.

It is best to wait until you complete medical treatment to negotiate a settlement. First, you need to know whether you sustained permanent impairments. If so, you can claim compensation for future damages.

When you complete treatment, your lawyer will negotiate a settlement amount. It could take several weeks of back-and-forth counteroffers to agree to an amount.

After you agree to a settlement amount, the steps that must occur will include:

Sign a Final Settlement Agreement

A settlement agreement releases all parties from any liability for claims and damages. In addition, the agreement releases the party who caused your injury and their insurance company. It also releases all other parties for any known and unknown claims.

In other words, when you sign a final settlement agreement, you give up your right to recover any more money for the claim. Therefore, it is crucial that you ensure you receive an amount that compensates you fairly for your economic and non-economic damages.

Attorney Receives a Settlement Check

Your attorney receives the settlement check. The lawyer will deposit the check into a trust account to hold the funds until they clear and can be disbursed. It could take a few weeks for the check to arrive at your lawyer’s office.

Disbursement for Liens and Costs

Before your lawyer can give any money to you, they must pay any outstanding medical liens, subrogation claims, and medical bills. Your attorney may negotiate lower amounts to satisfy the medical expenses. Negotiating payoffs could take a few weeks, but it could result in more money in your pocket.

Once the liens and medical bills are paid, your lawyer will deduct the attorneys’ fees and costs. Most personal injury lawyers accept cases on a contingency fee basis. The contingency fee is a percentage of the settlement amount.

The costs of the case are expenses the attorney paid for you, such as copy costs, deposition fees, record fees, and expert witness fees. Those costs are deducted and paid back to the law firm.

Receiving Your Net Settlement Check

Your attorney will write you a check for the net settlement proceeds. You can deposit the check and use it according to your needs and wishes. The personal injury claim is settled and closed at this point.

Approach an Attorney For Help Getting a Brooklyn Personal Injury Settlement Check

If you’ve been injured in an accident, contact an experienced Brooklyn personal injury lawyer for help negotiating with the insurance company. They’ll handle the claim from start to finish and ensure you receive an amount that fairly compensates you.

Contact Our Personal Injury Law Firm in Brooklyn, NY

If you need legal assistance, contact the Brooklyn personal injury lawyers at Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers at your nearest location to schedule a free consultation.

We have two convenient locations in New York:

Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers – Brooklyn Office
26 Court St Suite 2511
Brooklyn, NY 11242
(718) 802-1600

Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers – New York City Office
450 7th Ave #409
New York, NY 10123
(212) 564-2800