What Affects How Long It Takes for a Motorcycle Accident Injury Claim to Settle?

As mentioned above, the typical amount of time it takes to conclude a motorcycle injury case depends on many factors. They include the following:

1. Extent of Injuries

There are many causes for motorcycle accidents. And riders often experience worse injuries than car accident victims. This means more therapy and medical care over a longer period of time may be needed. While this equals a great potential settlement, it can also mean a longer timeline to reach a settlement.

It’s important to keep in mind that insurance companies are profit-seeking entities and will use any and all tools that are available to them to minimize cost. Sometimes, these cost-saving measures include methods that could result in the delay or denial of your claim, substantially increasing the time it takes to resolve it. In addition, because motorcyclists often have severe injuries, the high value means that insurance companies are often more likely to employ these strategies.

Fortunately, an experienced Michigan motorcycle accident injury lawyer knows how to handle motorcycle accident claims while negotiating with stubborn insurance companies.

2. The Quality and Amount of Evidence You Have

To settle a motorcycle accident injury claim, both the amount and quality of your evidence are crucial. They’ll need to be able to show that the other party or parties were responsible for the accident that caused your injuries.

Again, hiring a motorcycle accident injury attorney as soon as possible can help you recover evidence such as photos, videos, and witness statements while they still can.

3. The Number of Parties Involved

If just one party was clearly responsible for your accident, the settlement process will likely run smoothly and relatively quickly.

However, if there are multiple parties or if a government entity was involved, the at-fault parties and their insurance companies will need to negotiate. Because of this added complexity, the timeline is usually longer.

The Steps of the Process and How Long Each Takes

Though there isn’t an exact figure in terms of how long a motorcycle accident injury case can take, here’s what the process involves to help give you a ballpark estimation.

First, once all of the continuing complaints and problems have been addressed by specialists, the attorneys can do a pre-lawsuit demand and try to settle the case. This will typically take a minimum of six months, though often longer.

If the insurance company doesn’t offer reasonable compensation, a lawsuit is filed. Once those who are responsible are served, the lawsuit is typically transferred to a defense attorney, and under the Michigan Court Rules the defense attorney is supposed to file an answer usually within 21 or 28 days of service, though the deadline can be extended on a motion.

Next comes the discovery phase, where each side produces all of the evidence they have and conducts depositions. Judges typically order the discovery period to be 120 days. However, the discovery period is frequently extended. It can be extended for many reasons, sometimes conflict in the schedule of the court, of the parties, the attorneys, or as new information is obtained in the case, which may require an extension of deadlines to investigate the new information obtained.

Following the discovery phase is typically a Case Evaluation, where a three person attorney panel suggests a settlement amount. Parties may accept or reject this proposal. If the case evaluation award is accepted by both parties, a resolution has been achieved, but if not, the case may proceed through other types of settlement negotiations such as mediations, facilitations, arbitrations or other forms of alternative dispute resolution. If all of these fail, the case may even proceed to trial.

So, to break it down, a case could take as little as six months, but as long as three years or more depending on injuries, treatment, how complicated the case is, and how cooperative the insurance company, attorneys, and even the judge are.

Ways to Expedite the Process

There are some basic actions your Michigan motorcycle accident lawyer will advise you to take to help speed up the process.

First, always document anything you can. This includes both the accident and your recovery process. If possible, take photos or videos of the accident scene. And keep a record of all your medical expenses and lost wages. In addition, keep a journal that details the way your injuries affect your daily life so you can more easily prove non-economic damages like pain and suffering.

Finally, do NOT make statements to anyone that imply you’re at fault or that your injuries aren’t serious. Reserve all communications with the atfault party and your insurance company for your attorney. Because if questions of fault arise, negotiations will be complicated, thereby further increasing your timeline.

Hire an Experienced Motorcycle Accident Attorney Today!

While there’s no way to know exactly how long it takes for a motorcycle accident injury claim to settle, working with a motorcycle accident lawyer at Kajy Law will ensure a smoother experience.

Our team of skilled motorcycle accident injury attorneys at Kajy Law is here for you. We will pursue the maximum compensation you deserve and strive to reach your best settlement as quickly as possible.

So call 877-KAJY-CARES. Or, if you prefer, fill out our online form to speak with one of our highly experienced attorneys… today.