Will my Personal Injury Case take Years to Complete?
It’s no secret that sometimes personal injury cases take years to resolve, either though settlement or trial. The reasons some cases take so long are:
- The value of the case isn’t clear until you have reached maximum medical recovery;
- There are some benefits that impact the value of your case that you cannot access until 2 years have passed; and
- Staffing shortages in the Ontario court houses (this is improving).
However, despite what you may hear, some cases resolve within 18 months.
Will My Injury Case Settle Quickly?
Some of Auger Hollingsworth’s injury cases settle within 18 months. How we make this happen:
- At Auger Hollingsworth we have a pre-litigation department. Our pre-litigation department, staffed with lawyers and paralegals, handles all new cases.
- The pre-litigation department triages all cases to identify any cases which may be able to settle without a law suit.
- Factors the pre-litigation group consider are:
- Is the injury discrete with a predictable outcome?
- Has the client returned to work?
- Has the client finished treatment?
- Is it clear how the injury occurred?
- When all these factors fall in place, the pre-litigation team will discuss a settlement figure with our client.
- The pre-litigation team will make an offer to settle, usually directly to an adjuster from an insurance company.
- Negotiations take place.
- If a satisfactory dollar figure can be reached, the case is resolved with no law suit and no delay.
The pre-litigation team at Auger Hollingsworth settles cases in this fashion every single week.
What if my Injury Case Cannot Settle with the Insurance Adjuster?
Some cases cannot be settled within 18 months. Why? Because:
- The injuries have not resolved or plateaued;
- The client is still off work and it is uncertain whether he/she will be able to return to work;
- The client may wish to apply for catastrophic accident benefits;
- There are liability issues relating to who is at fault for the injuries; and / or
- The insurance company does not assess the case for the value that we and the client require.
Where these conditions exist, the case will move from Auger Hollingsworth’s pre-litigation department to the litigation department. In almost all cases, at this point the lawyers begin the law suit by issuing the claim in the court.
Let the Experienced Lawyers at Auger Hollingsworth Assess Your Injury Case.
If you have been avoiding speaking to a lawyer because you don’t want long drawn out litigation, call us. We will review your case and give you an honest opinion based on vast experience about how long we think your case will take. We take calls 24/7 at 613-233-4529.
