Some car accident claims are settled within a month. But more complex cases involving injury, or a dispute over who’s to blame, can go on for months or even more than a year.
Victims should remember that a quicker settlement isn’t always better, especially when a medical recovery is involved. It’s critical to make sure accident victims receive enough to cover everything they require to fully heal physically and financially, even if it takes a little extra time. But it’s also important to get victims dealing with a mountain of hospital bills and lost income recovery support compensation as soon as possible.
A skilled Bakersfield Car Accident Attorney gets aggressive to make sure you aren’t blamed for an accident you didn’t cause. Then your attorney fights to maximize the size of the settlement you receive. And if an insurance company is purposely delaying your settlement, we turn up the pressure to make them stop the unfair tactics and treat you compassionately.
What Can Delay a Bakersfield Car Accident Claim?
Car accident claims can be simple, especially when only property damage is involved. As long as the fault is pretty clear, insurers have streamlined the car repair process. It may only be a few weeks before you’ve got your car back to working order and the body improvements paid for.
But some accidents are more serious and complex. Months can drag on, leaving innocent victims wondering if they’ll ever get financial help with the bills they’ve built up and the time they’ve lost at work.
This is especially true when injury recovery runs long, with hospital bills growing the entire time. Insurers see the potential costs and immediately try to delay while they look for ways to avoid taking the financial hit for an injured victim.
These are just a few of the factors that will determine how long your wait for car accident compensation will be:
- The severity of injuries. – The time it takes for you to recover has a lot to do with the value of your claim and how much insurers will fight to avoid paying the tab. The more they resist, the longer the wait can be. A skilled attorney can call them out on this and get them moving on your claim. Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers can also help victims find doctors who will agree to treat you, while putting off billing you until you receive a settlement check.
- Your Full Recovery. Insurers like to wait until you’ve reached maximum recovery before they try to calculate what they should provide to you. If you still require care, even as settlement negotiations start, it can make things a bit more uncertain. The medical attention you could require in the months or years ahead could have to be estimated. Your lawyer works with your doctors and medical expert witnesses to determine what you may need and what you should seek in compensation now.
- How Many Parties Involved? In the vehicle pile-ups that can occur on the busy Highway 99, fault can be difficult to figure out. Blame may have to be shared between several drivers. That means more than one insurer is fighting over the blame and how much each driver should bear. If you have a lawyer representing your case, your lawyer fights to keep your level of blame low, or at 0% if you didn’t cause the crash. Your lawyer also makes sure support isn’t unfairly delayed when you need it most.
- How strong your evidence is – Photos from your accident, witness testimony, and even the accident reconstruction teams that we frequently use can all end arguments over who was at fault and help get you paid sooner. The less your case can be questioned, the fewer excuses insurers will have to withhold your support.
Your attorney’s experience will be the biggest advantage for you when delays become noticeable. Your attorney can tell when insurers are stalling, simply to make you desperate enough to accept any “lowball” offer. Our lawyers know who to call at giant insurance companies in order to speak with someone who actually makes decisions. It’s a great way to get things rolling on the support you and your family could use as soon as possible.
California Department of Insurance Deadlines for Insurers
You also have the California government on your side. Legislators pass laws in favor of consumers, so greedy corporations can’t take advantage of them as they go through terrible times. The California Department of Insurance exists to monitor the treatment of California residents in need of compensation.
The expectations of the California Department of Insurance (CDI) are as follows:
- The insurer should notify the claimant of receipt of the claim within 15 days.
- The insurer should give the claimant a decision on accepting or denying the claim within 40 days after receipt of the claim.
- Once a settlement is agreed upon, the claimant should be paid within a month.
These are guidelines, and insurers can be granted more time when circumstances warrant it. Accepted excuses may involve a case where further investigation is needed, especially if fault is in question. Insurers may ask for an extension if the victim hasn’t fully healed yet. The size of a settlement may be impossible to determine until a victim has fully recovered and no further medical expenses are expected.
These are possible excuses, but victims can report insurers to the CDI at any time. And insurance companies can be penalized. A lawyer could help with filing a complaint with the CDI. An experienced attorney will also know how to get results from an insurer, including threatening them with a lawsuit.
When Should I Have a Lawyer for a Bakersfield Car Accident Case?
It’s a good idea to speak with a real Bakersfield car accident lawyer after any serious accident that you didn’t cause. Contact us even after the settlement negotiations have started if you feel your claim isn’t being taken seriously. We offer a free, no-obligation case consultation.
If you do need a lawyer to represent you and keep things progressing, you don’t have to worry about how you’ll pay Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers. We don’t charge anything unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement check that an insurer must write for you.