If you or somebody you care about has been injured in a slip and fall accident caused by the careless or negligent actions of somebody else, you may be entitled to various types of compensation for injuries and other losses. There is no set amount of time for how long it takes for a slip and fall accident case to settle. Rather, the time from when a claim commences to when it ends will vary depending on the facts and circumstances surrounding each particular situation. Here, we want to discuss how long it may take a slip and fall case to settle, particularly for cases that revolve around insurance settlements and for those that require a personal injury lawsuit.
The vast majority of personal injury claims, including slip and fall cases, are resolved through settlements made with insurance carriers. Most property owners and business operators have some sort of insurance to cover various types of incidents that could occur on their premises. If a claim goes smoothly for the injury victim, they could receive an insurance payout for their injuries and other expenses relatively soon after the injury occurs, perhaps a few weeks or a few months after the incident.
However, this will depend on the injury victim’s course of treatment and whether or not they have made a full recovery. Slip and fall injury victims should not settle until after they have finished all medical treatment.
Unfortunately, there are times when the insurance carriers delay or deny a slip and fall injury claim. When this happens, it may be necessary to file a personal injury lawsuit against the alleged negligent party.
Slip and fall accident victims have to be aware of the California personal injury statute of limitations for these cases, which is two years from the date the injury occurs. After a personal injury lawsuit is filed in civil court, the process will likely take much longer to conclude. Even after a lawsuit is filed, most slip and fall accident cases will be settled before they go to a full jury trial, but there are still many steps between the filing of a lawsuit and the final settlement or verdict.
Both sides will have an opportunity to investigate the case and gather evidence. There will be a discovery phase in which the defendant and plaintiff will exchange evidence. It may be necessary to take depositions of witnesses involved in the case. Throughout all of this, there will be periods when both sides will negotiate in an attempt to resolve the matter before it goes to trial.
Only if there is no agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant during this process will a case need to go to a jury for a final decision. A final settlement in a slip and fall case could take months or even years to resolve, depending on how the personal injury lawsuit process plays out for a particular case.
Regardless of whether or not your slip and fall case is going to be handled by insurance carriers or through a personal lawsuit, you need to work with this skilled attorney to help you through this. A skilled Irvine slip and fall lawyer, like those at Callahan & Blaine, can use his or her resources to conduct a complete investigation into the incident and negotiate with all parties involved.