A Skilled Atlanta Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Explains the General Timeframe for Injury Claims
If you were injured in a motorcycle accident in Atlanta caused by a negligent driver, one of your burning questions might be how long it will take to settle a compensation claim for your injuries with their insurance company. Many of our clients have this concern. Unfortunately, no attorney can give you a precise answer to this question. However, our dedicated Atlanta personal injury team at Rechtman & Spevak has decades of experience fighting for the rights of motorcycle crash victims, so we can outline some of the basic steps in the process and help you stay on top of the details.
5 Factors That Affect How Long It Could Take to Settle Your Atlanta Motorcycle Accident Claim
Here’s an interesting point: most motorcycle crash cases are settled before they go to trial. Some can be resolved in three to six months, while others can take a year or longer before the insurance company agrees to settle a claim fairly.
Why is there such a wide time range for settling motorcycle accident victims’ claims? Every case is different, and several factors can influence the time it will take to reach a settlement. Understanding these factors is essential to know what to expect in your case. We weigh the following factors when advising you how long it could take to resolve your claim.
1. Strength of Your Evidence
You must prove the other driver’s negligence caused your motorcycle collision to be entitled to damages in Georgia. If you have strong evidence, this could make settling your claim with the motorist’s insurance company progress happen more quickly. We’ll assist you in collecting the evidence to prove this, such as:
- Police report
- Photos taken at the crash scene
- Eyewitness statements
- Damage to both vehicles
- Physical evidence, such as skid marks, at the scene
- Business surveillance and traffic signal video footage
- Accident reconstruction expert
2. Severity of Your Injuries
How serious your injuries are can directly impact how long it could take to settle your claim. If you suffered a traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, or other long-term medical problem—which are common health complications in a motorcycle accident—you’ll be entitled to more compensation. Thus, the at-fault party’s insurer tries to save money by finding every reason to delay before settling your claim.
3. Your Medical Recovery
You shouldn’t settle your claim until you reach your maximum medical improvement (MMI). This is when you’ve fully recovered or recovered as much as your condition will allow. If you have permanent injuries, your doctor can give you a prognosis of what medical treatments and rehabilitation you’ll need and how your injuries will affect your ability to work.
Here’s an important note: our personal injury legal team will want to hold off settling your case until you reach your MMI. We can’t accurately determine your future damages for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering before you heal as much as you can.
4. Disputes With the Insurance Company
Even if you have a solid case, the insurance company could dispute liability or the seriousness of your injuries. Like many people, an insurance adjuster could be biased against motorcycle riders and believe you’re a reckless and unsafe rider who caused the wreck.
In addition, you may have made inadvertent mistakes that give the insurance company ammunition to fight about your claim. So if the insurer disputes its responsibility to pay you, it could take us longer to collect additional evidence or hire expert witnesses to resolve these challenges before we can negotiate a settlement for you.
5. Litigation of Your Claim
We’ll have to sue on your behalf if the insurance company refuses to offer you a fair settlement, or the two-year statute of limitations under Georgia Code § 9-3-33 expires soon. Litigating your case often makes reaching a settlement take longer, but our legal team will most likely convince the insurance company to settle before your jury trial.