Over 90 percent of civil cases settle out of court. A few car crash claims settle with a few weeks. Most, however, settle after a few months. Negotiations cannot begin in earnest until medical treatment is complete. Otherwise, a personal injury attorney would have no way to ascertain a settlement value.
The settlement value is the baseline figure for pretrial negotiations. With that figure in mind, the claim may move forward through the process.
Demand Letter
As the name implies, a demand letter demands a certain sum of money in exchange for a liability waiver. In addition to a demand for money, this letter usually sketches out the victim/plaintiff’s legal claims. The letter may also hint at the evidence the victim/plaintiff has in support of these claims.
If liability is reasonably certain, most insurance companies have a duty to settle claims about thirty days after they receive demand letters. But in almost all cases, there is at least some question as to liability. So, fast settlements are very rare. Typically, the case moves onto the next phase.
Filing Suit
Lawyers must file legal paperwork in the proper county and in the proper court. The procedural rules in this area are quite complex, and many of these rules are unwritten. Mistakes usually do not torpedo claims, but they are expensive and time-consuming to correct.
Soon after the victim/plaintiff files suit, the insurance company usually asks the judge to throw the case out of court. This request does not mean your claim is weak. It’s just the way things are done. Unless the victim/plaintiff has absolutely no valid claim whatsoever, SoCal judges almost always allow claims to move onto the next stage.
Discovery
Victims know their cases are in this period when they must answer written questions under oath and appear for depositions. The insurance company must do the same thing. Increasingly, most cases involve e-discovery. This is an umbrella term that could mean a number of different things. In car crash cases, e-discovery often involves the Event Data Recorder. A vehicle’s EDR is a lot like a commercial jet’s black box flight recorder.
The judge supervises the discovery process. If disputes arise, and they often do, the judge usually holds hearings to resolve them.
Resolution
Once discovery is complete, most Los Angeles County judges refer car crash cases to mediation. A third-party mediator, who is usually an unaffiliated personal injury lawyer or a retired judge, works to facilitate a settlement between the two sides. Mediation is successful about 75 percent of the time, largely because it reduces litigation expenses and speeds the resolution of the case.
If there is no mediated or other agreed settlement, the case proceeds to trial. That trial could take place before a jury or before a judge without a jury.
The car crash claim process can be quite short, but it usually takes some time to resolve these cases on favorable terms. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in Pasadena, contact the Law Office of Bassam Marjiya. Attorneys can connect victims with doctors, even if they have no money or insurance.