How Long Do Personal Injury Lawsuits Take? A Step-by-Step Overview

Cassidy Loutos
Feb 19
4 min read

If you’ve suffered a personal injury, you’re probably anxious to get justice and move beyond the injury. Beyond any ongoing medical care, the key to that is successfully receiving compensation from the people who caused your injury.

How long do personal injury lawsuits take, though?

Well, it depends on a variety of factors, but we’ll address the typical process and cover the most common reasons a case is short or longer than average.

The General Timeline for a Personal Injury Case

The timeline for a typical personal injury case lasts for about 1 to 3 years once it goes to trial. That’s a pretty wide range, and a lot of factors determine how it plays out.

Here’s how long each process takes on average.

1: Filing

Filing is the initial process. It happens once you contact an attorney, they choose to take on the case, and they’ve gathered enough evidence to warrant taking it to court.

This also includes the investigation phase. The attorney will work with you to organize any evidence, including photos and video evidence, that you gathered from the time of the incident to this point. They will also work to gather more information that you might not have access to, failed to retrieve initially, or otherwise don’t have.

Then, they’ll put in the paperwork to set up the lawsuit.

This process takes up to 3 months. It will take the full 3 months or longer if it’s harder to gather evidence. Factors that can make it more difficult include improper actions taken during the recording of the incident, failure to maintain accurate medical records, and other similar issues.

It is recommended to understand what to do when an incident occurs to minimize this phase and build a strong case with ease.

2: Demand and Negotiation Phase

This is a much longer phase, and it’s when you formally declare your lawsuit to the offending party while attempting to negotiate the compensation you want.

Unfortunately, because it is often a tense exchange with back-and-forth arguments, it can take up to 6 months or more to finish. At this point, the case is still not at trial.

3: Discovery

Discovery is when both parties have time to strengthen their cases by gathering more evidence and reviewing the filed court documents.

This is a crucial phase that has to be treated with care. It can take 6 months to a year, and you still won’t be in a courtroom at this point.

4: Trial

Once both cases are fully built and everything has been entered into the court, you’ll have one or more court appearances.

This phase typically ends quickly. You go to court, and after both parties have presented their arguments, the court renders a verdict. Once that happens, both parties are obligated to follow through with whatever the judge ordered.

If the case is more complex, you might have multiple appearances that are spaced out according to the court’s schedule.

Bypassing the Lengthy Trial Process

If that process sounds long, complex, and stressful, that’s because it is. It can also be costly depending on the payment agreement you have with your lawyer and the outcome of the case.

Luckily, there is a way to bypass most of that process very easily.

You and the other party do have the option to reach a settlement. In fact, the majority of cases end with a settlement.

A settlement is when both parties agree to a mutually beneficial outcome. For you, that means the other side is going to compensate you. On the other side, you might have to sign an agreement not to publicize details of the incident, or you might have to accept less compensation than the court would have ordered upon a successful lawsuit’s completion.

By ending the case with a settlement, you can cut the whole process down to a matter of weeks. You can also agree to a settlement at any point before the case goes to trial.

There are drawbacks, though.

First, you’re going to have to give something up. Defendants don’t agree to a settlement where they get nothing in return. If that’s going to be the outcome, they’ll take their chances at trial.

Then, there’s the fact that your legal remedies for issues with the dispute become highly limited. If the defendant doesn’t pay you or you find out something new that could have gotten you more compensation, there isn’t much you can do legally.

Another key thing to understand is that you can’t set legal precedents with a settlement. For most people, this is irrelevant. However, if you have a novel case that sets a new standard for the legal system, you might want to win it at trial to help others in the future. Of course, the choice is yours.

Lastly, negotiating a settlement can be difficult. If the other side does not want to compensate you, they can fight it or try underhanded tactics to minimize your compensation. It’s necessary to hire a personal injury attorney to ensure that you don’t get bullied in the negotiation room.

There are pros and cons to accepting a settlement deal, and it’s best to weigh the odds before you commit.

Speeding Up Your Personal Injury Lawsuit

If accepting a settlement isn’t an option, there are some ways to help speed up the process.

The best thing you can do is call an attorney immediately. Once your safety is secured, get on the phone.

The attorney might be able to file a lawsuit, but they will guide you through the initial process after the incident to ensure you do everything right.

Many cases are lost because the plaintiff made critical mistakes right after the incident. It’s easy to make those mistakes, too. You’re under stress, and you’ve likely never been in this situation before. Your attorney can guide you.

The sooner you call an attorney, the sooner they can gather evidence and start building a case, too. That speeds up the first three months of the process.

Win Your Personal Injury Case with Loutos Law

Loutos Law PLLC has the experience and dedication needed to guide you through your personal injury case. Our team is committed to fighting for the results you deserve.