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Disclaimer

We designed this website to provide information to consumers, injured people, and their families. Our goal is to level the playing field between consumers and insurance companies and expose the tricks, traps, and techniques they use to cheat injured people out of their legal rights. We also let consumers know about legal news, including verdicts and settlements and other interesting legal information.

But please understand that nothing on this website is meant to provide legal information about your specific case, create an attorney-client relationship, or imply that the results of your legal case will be the same as some other case.

How long does it take to complete a personal injury case? Board Certified Texas Injury Lawyer provides an answer.

For purposes of this question, it is assumed that the case involves serious injuries (in other words, it's not a soft tissue case or a minor fender bender car wreck -- those cases are typically on a different, shorter, time line).

There are a lot of factors that will impact how long a personal injury case will take. Most importantly, after the case is filed and the defendant companies have hired lawyers and appeared in the case, the Judge will set a trial date. Most judges are interested in moving their dockets efficiently, and will set a trial date within one year after it is filed.

However, realistically, many cases are not reached for trial on their first setting. Many times, a case will not be reached for trial until a second or third trial setting, sometimes longer.

The complexity of the case will impact how long it takes, from a perspective of both liability and damages. A rear end vehicle accident case is not very complicated from a liability standpoint, and shouldn't take as along as a complex products liability case that will be expert-intensive. Similarly, a case involving orthopedic injuries will typically be less complex, and take less time, than a case involving something like a traumatic brain injury.

The approach of the lawyers will impact how long the case takes. Many times, lawyers on the defense like to make things last for a while -- they are usually paid by the hour, so that explains their mindset. A plaintiff's attorney who pushes his or her cases will counter the slow-road defense approach. However, if plaintiff's counsel is not very aggressive about pushing the case, it will likely sit around for a long while.

The above discusses the time line to TRIAL. But there is another important time line: the time to potential SETTLEMENT. Most of the trial time factors also apply to the settlement time line. However, the attorneys on both sides have more control over how quickly a case will be postured for potential settlement.

Understanding that every case is different, as a practical matter, most personal injuries cases should be developed, and negotiated for potential settlement, within a year of filing. There are many situations where this time frame will be longer, or shorter, however, this is a good rule of thumb.

If you have any questions about the time frames for personal injury cases, please contact us and our Houston Personal Injury Lawyers will help you.
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