As a Kansas City personal injury lawyer, one of the most common questions potential new clients ask is, “How long will my case take?” Personal injury lawsuits can take anywhere from a few months to several years to finish. There are several things that determine the length of a case. Here are a few:
1. The length of your medical care.
We personal injury lawyers generally do not settle cases until our clients reach maximum medical improvement. In other words, we usually wait until your doctors have made you as good as you're going to get.
Sometimes you don’t ever fully recover from a car crash and may need medical care for the rest of your life, sometimes a few months of physical therapy does the job. Either way, you only get one chance at settling your case. This is why we wait until the medical care runs its course before trying to settle.
2. The likelihood of settlement.
If a case is likely to settle, for whatever reason, it usually takes less time than if a case must be tried. This is because going to trial can take up two years. Between the Court’s calendar and the lawyer’s availability, its hard to find a trial date that works for everyone. This is why trials get set so far out in advance. If a case is likely to settle pre-suit, it usually settles much sooner than the cases that must get tried.
3. The complexity of the case.
Generally speaking, the more complex the liability or damages, the longer the case will take. By complex liability I mean the thing that caused the injury is complex, like toxic exposure cases or medical malpractice. The harm that was caused by the negligent act can also be complex. For example, a simple car crash may cause a brain injury or aggravate an old injury, which requires complex medical testimony to prove. These things can take a while to pin down and usually adds to the length of a case.
There are several other factors that affect how long a case will take. If you have questions about how long your case might take, please feel free to call our firm at 816.867.8611. We handle all kinds of personal injury cases and know what it takes to make such cases as good as possible.