In Georgia personal injury cases, the nature and duration of the medical care determines how long it takes to resolve your case. This article will provide you with an idea of how long your personal injury case (car accident, tractor trailer/truck accident, wrongful death) will take to resolve either through settlement before or after suit is filed or through trial to a jury of your peers. Keep in mind that these are just general timelines as each case involves different injuries, treatment modalities, and factual issues that affect how long it takes to resolve a personal injury case.
While approximately 98-99% of all Georgia personal injury claims settle and approximately 85-90% of cases in litigation settle short of trial, we have seen a trend recently of insurance companies trying cases more and more often. Below is the general timeline that provides you with an outline of the process and what you can expect each step of the way:
Step 1: Medical Care
During this step, you will meet with the attorney in person to go over the facts of the case, your injuries to-date, any treatment already received, medical providers you have already seen, and other particulars discussed below. During this step, we will do the following
- Send a letter of representation to the at-fault party, his/her or its insurer, if known, to notify them of your claim, our representation, to request insurance policy coverage information and all photographs/statements obtained by them regarding the incident;
- Send a letter of representation to your insurance company if your case is a car/truck accident to get your UM coverage information;
- Obtain the accident report or incident report;
- Preserve any critical evidence like 911 calls, physical evidence, dash cam images, photographs, statements etc.;
- Interview witnesses;
- Help you coordinate your medical treatment either by helping you find the right provider to help you with your injuries or just help you coordinate payment of bills through health insurance or lien based treatment;
This step is usually the longest short of the litigation phase because a lot of time is needed for you to get the treatment you need so we know exactly what injuries you suffered, what treatment is necessary, how much that treatment has cost, and what if any long term impairments will you have---all important elements for determining what the jury value of your is.
Step 2: Drafting of Settlement Demand
Once your medical care is over, our at least the full course of treatment is known, then we can request all of your medical records and bills from your medical providers. It usually takes 30-60 days to get records back from a provider after the request is made and you should anticipate it will take around a week for us to complete your settlement demand package.
Once the demand package is sent out to the insurance company it will take 30 days to receive a response. Once the initial response is received, negotiations will begin in earnest. We keep you notified of progress in the negotiations. If the insurance company makes a reasonable offer, and it is acceptable to you after our advise on it, we will send a confirmation letter. It will take a month or so before your settlement proceeds have been received and are ready to be given to you.
You may be wondering who gets to decide whether the case settles. The answer is YOU. We will provide our advise on what the jury value of your case is and what is or is not a good settlement offer is given the dynamics of your case based on our experience, but it is ultimately your case. If you decide not to or even to take an offer that we advise against, that is your right because it is always your case, your pain and suffering, and your family. Only you and your family can make the ultimate decision whether to settle or not.
Step 3: Litigation
If it is necessary to file suit to unlock the true value of your case and you agree, then it will take around two weeks to prepare the lawsuit. The lawsuit does not begin until the defendant has been personally served. Service is when the sheriff or an appointed server actually hands a copy of the lawsuit to the defendant or an adult they live with. Keep in mind you have to sue the actual defendant not his or her insurance companey.
Once the lawsuit is served, the Defendant has 30 days within which to answer. If they fail to and don’t fix it within another 15 days, they are in default and admit most everything in the lawsuit, which makes your case easier. This is very unlikely to happen and instead within the first 30 days an Answer is filed.
Step 4: Discovery
Once the Answer is filed, the discovery clock starts ticking. Discovery lasts six months in Georgia unless it is extended by consent of all parties and the Court. The point of discovery for the defendant is to learn everything about your case---facts of incident, your injuries, treatment, and damages. For you the point of discovery is to learn what if any defenses the defendant has to your case and collect valuable evidence that will us win your case at trial.
The first step is written discovery is answered. This usually takes the first 2-3 months of discovery. After that you can expect the defendant will want to take your depsotion, which is a sworn statement from you with a court reporter present. Depositions usually last for 3-4 hours, depending on the situation, and almost nothing about you and your case is off limits. For you the next step if for us to take the deposition of the defendant and any other necessary witnesses and prepare medical evidence and exhibits. It is not abnormal to have discovery drag on for 9-10 months.
Step 5: Trial
After discovery is over and the next step in the case is to try the case or settle, often mediation is requested. Often times it is at this point that cases get resolved before trial.
If the case does not settle at mediation, trial is the only option. In Georgia courts the time to get to a jury trial can vary from around 6 months to 2 years, depending on what court the case is in and even what judge within that court has the case.
Typical trials in personal injury cases last around 2-4 days depending on the number of witnesses and evidence that needs to be presented to win your case.
If you are in need of an experienced personal injury lawyer in Atlanta, please feel free to fill out our "Contact Us" form or call us today at (770) 887-3162 to talk today one of our Atlanta car accident lawyers, Atlanta truck accident attorneys, Atlanta wrongful death lawyers, or other Atlanta personal injury lawyer.