How Long Does a Personal Injury Case Take to Settle?

You’ve been seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident. Life as you know it has been turned upside down. The injuries are causing pain and significant daily challenges. On top of that, you’re starting to experience significant financial pressure; you’re missing work or off work altogether, and out-of-pocket expenses for medication and treatments are piling up. 

It’s little wonder that “how long will my case take to settle?” is one of the first questions clients ask our Sault Ste. Marie lawyers. Accident victims need financial compensation to help them recover and move on from their injuries. Let’s have a look at how long Ontario personal injury cases take to settle and factors that can impact the timeline. 

How Long Will Your Personal Injury Case Take to Settle?

An Ontario motor vehicle, motorcycle, ATV or snowmobile personal injury claim can be settled in 2-3 years. However, it’s not uncommon for resolution of an injury lawsuit to take much longer, when medical experts can confirm that the injured person has sustained a permanent serious impairment.  Some cases can take up to five years or longer, especially if medical experts , rehabilitation experts and accountants must be retained to properly assess the injured person’s potential damages for Pain and Suffering , Loss of Housekeeping Capacity, Attendant Care Costs , Caregiving Costs , Future Care Costs and Potential Loss of Income.  Furthermore if the insurance company is being unreasonable a trial may be necessary to secure full compensation.

The Sault Ste. Marie lawyers at Feifel Gualazzi have extensive personal injury experience, having resolved thousands of personal injury claims and having achieved hundreds of millions of dollars of compensation for our clients. While we can’t provide any guarantees, we can draw from our experience to provide you with an estimate of how long your case will take. In fact, if you’re in or near Sault Ste. Marie, you can contact us to schedule a free consultation to learn more about your case.

What Factors Influence the Time a Case Takes to Settle? 

As you’ve likely gathered from the discussion so far, injury severity and liability disputes are two critical factors that impact the timeline. The length of time it takes to settle your case can also be influenced by one or more of these factors: 

• The insurance company, the insurance adjuster, and the defence lawyer acting for the opposing side. These other parties can have a major impact on how quickly your case moves forward and whether out-of-court settlement is possible. If they are being unreasonable, unresponsive, or uncooperative, the process will take longer. 

• Willingness to settle. Closely tied to the point we just discussed is the insurance company’s willingness to settle. In our experience, insurers are usually more reluctant to offer large payouts. For example, if your case involves permanent, life-altering injuries, a large claim for future care costs, and/or a significant income loss claim, the dollar value will be higher, and the insurance company may drag its feet. 

• Complexity of the case. Complicated issues tend to delay settlement. Complications that can increase the time to resolve your case include policy limit issues, hit and run accidents, uninsured drivers, novel legal issues, and claims against multiple defendants where each denies liability and points the finger at their co-defendants. It will take time to properly investigate the claim and coverage issues, gather evidence, and build legal arguments in such cases. 

• Need for expert witnesses. The role of an expert witness is to help non-experts (e.g., the insurance adjuster; a judge/jury) understand complex or technical issues, enabling them to make informed decisions. It takes time to retain and instruct experts, and then more time for the expert to conduct assessments/investigations and prepare a written report. It’s worth noting, however, that an expert can save time in the long run: once secured, a strong expert report can be relied on to increase chances of fair settlement without the need for trial. 

• Your recovery. It takes time to properly diagnose and treat injuries. You should never settle your case before you know how the injuries will impact you in the future, and it’s usually best to wait until you’ve undergone all possible treatments and/or surgery. When you accept a settlement offer, you must sign a full and final release. If you settle too quickly, you may be stuck with compensation that is a mere fraction of the full value of your claim.

• The court’s schedule. Chronic backlog in scheduling trials has become the norm in Ontario. If your case requires a trial, you may have to wait months or years to get a trial date. 

The list above is by no means exhaustive. Other factors that can impact the timeline include the viability of streamlined court procedures in your case (such as starting your case under Rule 76 using Ontario’s simplified procedure, which can expedite the litigation process) and the use of alternative dispute resolution methods (for example, mediation can be very effective for achieving settlement). 

Trusted Personal Injury Lawyers in Sault Ste. Marie Fighting for the Compensation You Deserve

Residents of Blind River, Elliot Lake, and the surrounding Algoma District can count on the experienced lawyers at Feifel Gualazzi in Sault Ste. Marie for trusted legal support after a vehicle accident. We understand how worrying the unknowns can be, and how stressful it is to wait for your case to be resolved. 

At Feifel Gualazzi, our focus is on early resolution, mediation, and settlement. We will not, however, compromise your case for the sake of early settlement. Our experienced personal injury litigation lawyers have conducted numerous judge and jury trials, achieving landmark and precedent-setting damage awards for our clients. We have the skills and expertise to aggressively fight for you at a trial. 

Whether you sustained physical or emotional injuries, you can count on the Sault Ste. Marie lawyers at Feifel Gualazzi to tirelessly defend your rights to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve. We’ll take care of gathering all the necessary evidence and putting together a strong case.

You’re welcome to contact us today to speak with a lawyer in Sault Ste. Marie or you can complete our online form to request a free consultation to find out if you have a case.