How Long Will My Car Accident Case Take To Settle in Griffin?
A car accident claim in Griffin, GA, goes through many steps between its initial filing and its resolution, but your case can be settled at almost any time during that process. Once an insurer makes a fair offer to you and your attorney, you can quickly and easily resolve your case and return to living your life.
An experienced attorney can help guide you through this process, and in many situations, they will facilitate a quick and fair settlement. From helping you determine the value of your case to negotiating with a claims adjuster to maximize your settlement, a lawyer can provide essential services to injured clients, The King Firm can explain your legal rights and options during a free consultation. Call our law office at (404) 567-4546 to speak to an experienced Griffin car accident lawyer.
How The King Firm Can Help After an Auto Accident in Griffin
The King Firm was established in 2014 by an experienced insurance defense attorney. Today, our Griffin car accident attorneys fight insurers on behalf of accident victims. They have several decades of combined experience and have recovered over $40 million for the firm’s clients.
Some of the firm’s notable car accident cases include:
- A $10 million car accident settlement on behalf of a woman killed in an auto crash
- A $2.25 million pedestrian accident jury award after a hit-and-run crash
- A $1.2 million car accident jury award for a girl injured in a car crash
We can help after a car accident in Griffin by:
- Collecting evidence in support of your claim with the aid of experts if needed
- Fully evaluating the extent of your damages and demanding fair compensation
- Negotiating a settlement agreement on your behalf
Car accident injuries can disable you and prevent you from working or even caring for yourself and your children. Contact The King Firm for a free consultation to discuss your car accident and the injuries you suffered.
How Many Griffin Car Accident Cases Settle?
A query on the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Crash Dashboard shows that Griffin sustained 1,060 total crashes in 2021. These accidents included one fatal crash and 302 injury-causing crashes. In total, one person suffered a fatal injury, and 455 people suffered non-fatal injuries.
Georgia uses fault-based car insurance, which means that every car owner must buy liability insurance to register their vehicle. After a crash, accident victims file an injury claim with the at-fault driver’s liability insurer. However, this insurance only covers third parties; a driver cannot file a liability claim with their own insurer.
Not all of the 455 people injured in Griffin car crashes in 2021 filed an injury claim, as some of them caused their accidents themselves and had no one else to blame for their injuries as a result. Others suffered only minor injuries and did not bother to file a claim.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, about 73% of injury lawsuits settle, but that number does not include any cases that settle before the accident victims file lawsuits. Based on these numbers, it can be estimated that accident victims in Griffin settled as many as 333 car accident cases in 2021.
The Timeline for Settling a Car Accident Claim in Griffin, GA
A claim is opened and starts when you notify the at-fault driver’s insurer of your accident. The insurer has 15 days to provide you with proof-of-loss forms, along with the necessary instructions for filling them out. You and your lawyer will then use these forms to describe your accident and the losses you suffered in detail.
After you return these forms along with supporting documents, the insurer will assign a claims adjuster to the case, who will investigate your claim and determine whether to pay or deny the claim.
If the adjuster moves to deny, they can deny either only part of the claim or the entire claim all at once. The adjuster does not have a defined timeline to approve or deny your claim.
Georgia regulations require insurers to decide within 15 days for a first-party claim filed by a policyholder, but it does not set a timeline for third-party claims. At the same time, claim adjusters must make a good faith attempt to form a “prompt, fair, and equitable settlement” of your claim, which means the insurer must not unfairly drag out your claim.
You also have a mechanism on your side to make a decision: If you and your lawyer make an offer of settlement, the insurer must accept or reject it within 60 days. If they don’t, and you end up winning at least that amount at trial, the jury can award you up to an additional $5,000 alongside all of your attorney fees.
Realistically, then, you should expect your claim to take several months, but your lawyer can often find ways to press the insurer to keep your claim moving and prevent them from dragging it out.
If you cannot settle your claim on fair terms, you and your injury attorney will need to file a lawsuit to continue forward. The timeline for a lawsuit will depend on the court’s docket, but in many cases, you may need to litigate your case for several months before your trial date. In the meantime, your lawyer will continue to try to settle.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Griffin Car Accident Lawyers
You often need knowledge of injury law and experience dealing with insurers to successfully settle a car accident claim. Contact The King Firm for a free consultation to discuss your accident with a trusted Griffin car accident lawyer.