Most victims of slip and fall accidents have one major concern: how long does it take to settle slip and fall claims? It can be very frustrating when your New York Slip and Fall lawyer tells you that it depends on various factors. You’ve probably heard of it. Unfortunately, this is the case.
Many factors determine a slip and fall settlement timeline, and hiring a lawyer right away does not guarantee a quick settlement of your claim. In most cases, it is best to postpone settling your slip and fall claim. Gregory Spektor & Associates can provide you with a free consultation to determine whether your case will go to trial. However, before determining which factors may prolong the process, you should be aware of the following:
If you were injured in a slip and fall accident as a result of another person’s intentional actions, recklessness, or negligence, you may be eligible for a certain type of premises liability claim, such as:
Punitive damages, as opposed to compensatory damages, are intended to punish the at-fault party for their wrongful and egregious actions. They are also intended to deter them and others from committing similar acts in the future.
This damage includes verifiable and actual losses caused by the slip and fall. Medical expenses include current, past, and future medical bills. Hospitalizations, doctor visits, surgeries, and prescription medications are examples of these.
Physical and occupational therapy are examples of rehabilitative therapies. Claimable expenses include lost earning capacity, at-home nursing care, replacement services, personal property damage, lost wages, and other out-of-pocket expenses.
Losses are also included in this category of damage. However, unlike economic damage, they are difficult to quantify and subjective. Here are a few examples:
While some slip and fall settlements can be resolved in a matter of months, others can take years, even for the most experienced attorney. Again, this is dependent on the specific facts of the case. As a victim of a slip and fall accident, you should know why your settlement claim may take longer. Here are a few examples:
Your attorney will want to wait until your doctor gives you a full prognosis or until your treatment is finished before seeking a settlement to ensure you receive the full compensation you deserve. This is because your injury attorney wants to ensure that all of your current and potential future medical bills are included in your settlement claim.
Unfortunately, it may take several months, if not more than a year, after you begin conservative treatments like physical therapy, for your doctor to determine that they are ineffective and that you require surgery.
If you have a preexisting injury or injuries to the same body part that was injured in your slip and fall accident, it may cause the slip and fall settlement timeline to be extended. A skilled insurance adjuster will argue that the previous injury caused the current one.
As a result, settling your case may take more time for your lawyer because they may need medical experts, such as your current physician, to offer their expert opinion on the matter and prove the insurance adjuster is incorrect.
Even if the property owner’s or business’s liability is clear, the insurance adjuster will almost always want to dispute some aspect of your case. It is, after all, their job. For example, they may raise concerns about the extent of your slip and fall injury to deny or reduce your claim.
Depending on the reasonableness of the insurance adjuster, it could take your attorney months or even longer negotiate the proper settlement for you. This is why you need competent and experienced attorneys like Gregory Spektor & Associates to assist you in resolving such disputes as quickly as possible.
If your slip and fall accident causes more serious injuries, you may become disabled or suffer from chronic pain. If this is the case, the value of your claim will almost certainly be quite high. As a general rule, the insurance company will most likely fight hard to deny or reduce your claim if the settlement amount is substantial. This is more likely to delay your slip and fall settlement.
Sometimes the insurance company will refuse to accept a reasonable settlement. In this case, your injury lawyer may file a civil lawsuit against the property owner or business and contest your case. Although your slip and fall case is most likely to be resolved before your trial, the litigation process could take several months.
In most cases, the insurance company is at the center of any negotiations involving a slip and fall accident claim. It is unusual for the insurance adjuster to agree to the initial settlement amount requested by your attorney. Even in relatively simple cases, these negotiations are a tiresome, back-and-forth, time-consuming process. As a result, it hurts the slip and fall settlement timeline.
As a victim in a slip and fall accident case, you may be able to influence the length of the trial. You can do a few things to help shorten the length of the trial, but there are factors to consider throughout the case.
After a slip and fall accident, it is best to seek medical attention and begin your care plan as soon as possible. You should also photograph the scene of the accident, take photos of the area, obtain witness contact information, and include photos of the surrounding areas.
Most importantly, if your slip and fall accident occurs at a business, you must report it formally to the company representatives. In addition, seek legal counsel from personal injury experts such as Gregory Spektor & Associates to assist you in taking the necessary steps to preserve evidence. This should occur within a few days to several weeks of the slip and fall. Working with an experienced lawyer may help to speed up the process.
Once you’ve gathered all of the necessary information about the slip and fall accident, it’s time to file a formal complaint. This complaint frequently includes a description of the nature of your claim. It describes the incident’s circumstances, the allegedly liable party or parties, and the grounds for recovery. The information you provide here must be correct. This information could take several weeks to collect.
After that, file your formal complaint with the appropriate court and ensure you serve the defendant with the necessary paperwork informing them that you have a claim. The defendant has several weeks from the date they received the summons to file a response. The entire complaint filing process could take a month or more. However, with the assistance of an attorney, the process can be accelerated.
It is important to note that you only have a certain amount of time to file a slip and fall complaint. The statute of limitations in New York is three years from the date of the incident that caused your injury.
Furthermore, if you wait too long to file a complaint, conducting a thorough investigation and gathering evidence will be more difficult. So, hiring a personal injury attorney is the best option if you want to focus on recovering from your slip and fall injuries rather than dealing with legal issues.
The defendant has 30 days to respond to your filed complaint in New York. This time is set aside for them to find a lawyer and prepare their formal response. This answer must be formally filed with the court, and you must be provided with a copy.
You can file a demand letter after receiving an answer from the defendant. A demand letter describes what you anticipate receiving from the defendant for the case to be resolved. For example, you could file this demand letter with the insurance company for the property or business owner. The letter should include detailed reasons you believe your demands are fair and legal.
Ensure you do not send the demand letter until you have determined the full extent of your damages. A demand letter can be submitted at any stage of the slip and fall lawsuit process.
The other party can then respond to your demand letter with a counteroffer. If this is the case, both parties can begin negotiating, and if an agreement is reached, the case can be settled without needing a slip-and-fall lawsuit. Most negotiations last only a few weeks.
The case preparation and discovery phase begins after both parties have established their positions. Even though you have kept information since the day of the slip and fall incident, this phase requires detailed preparation of your case. You may need to consult with occupational and medical experts, contact witnesses, and compile extensive paperwork at this stage.
During the formal discovery phase, the defendant and plaintiff will gather as much information as possible about the case. It includes the following:
This phase could take several months to a few years, depending on the amount of evidence your slip and fall law firm collects and the complexity of your case. At this point, you should consult with your attorney to determine what you will need to build a strong case and develop an effective strategy.
After you’ve built your case and investigated all of the evidence, you can begin serious settlement negotiations with the defendant. A settlement conference can be conducted informally between the attorneys of both parties or formally, as in a mediation session in which you can participate. It is worth noting that most slip and fall cases settle before going to trial.
Both parties may wish to bring some issues to the court’s attention. Preliminary issues may also be resolved through the filing of pretrial motions. The following are some of the most common pretrial motions:
This motion is filed by either party to ask the court to compel the other party to do something the other party would otherwise refuse to do. The most common compel motions to involve ordering the opposing party to produce documents or appear for a deposition.
Because the lawsuit has some flaws in legal technicalities, the defendant usually files this motion in the early stages.
This is a motion filed with the court to have certain evidence excluded from the trial because it may be prejudicial in some way. For example, a motion in limine may be filed to prevent the jury from learning that the liability is insured. This information may be prejudicial because a jury is more likely to award a claim. After all, the insurance will cover it.
If granted, this is a very strong motion. It can be filed by either party if it believes the other party’s defenses or claims are unsupported by facts. If a summary judgment is granted, the case is over, and the decision is final. This gives it a lot of power.
Negotiations can last anywhere from a few days to several months. The case goes to trial if a reasonable settlement cannot be reached during the negotiations.
The court will then set the trial date, which is usually set several months in advance. This time allows you to gather evidence, prepare arguments, and call witnesses. Your attorney will present your case to the jury and/or the judge during the trial. Surprisingly, the trial is frequently the shortest part of the slip and fall lawsuit timeline. This is because it typically lasts two to five days.
After the jury renders its verdict and a ruling is issued, the at-fault party must pay within 30 to 60 days. However, in some cases, the judge may modify this timeline if, for example, the at-fault party lacks sufficient funds to make a lump sum payment.
If either party is dissatisfied with the verdict, they can appeal to a higher court.
Various factors may either expedite or delay your slip and fall lawsuit in such cases. Some of them include:
A simple slip and fall lawsuit usually takes less than three months to resolve. If the case is complicated with multiple liable parties, it could take years to resolve. You can speed up the process with the help of an experienced law firm like Gregory Spektor & Associates, giving you peace of mind and allowing you to focus on your health.
We have highly qualified and experienced attorneys at Gregory Spektor & Associates, P.C. who can help you understand how long it takes to settle your slip and fall claim and also help you get a fair settlement in the shortest possible time.
We have a reputation for having an unparalleled attorney-client relationship and unparalleled success in obtaining compensation for our clients in slip and fall cases. As previously stated, the timeline for slip and fall settlement is determined by several factors. One of the most important is the knowledge of your attorney.
With Gregory Spektor & Associates, P.C. on your side, you can relax and focus on your recovery while we take care of getting you the maximum compensation as quickly as possible. All of our attorney’s advertising claims are factual, so you can trust them. If you ever require our services or our comprehensive attorney advertising, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Visit Gregory Spektor & Associates, P.C. in Queens, NY, for more information on how long it takes to settle a slip and fall case. For a free consultation, call 888-797-7755 today.
