Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers | August 16, 2024 | Slip and Fall Accidents
A slip and fall accident can turn your life upside down in an instant. It can put you in a difficult financial position as medical bills mount and lost earnings accumulate. So, how long does it take to settle a slip and fall case in New York?
Unfortunately, there is no way to provide a definitive timeline for the settlement of a slip and fall accident claim. What you can do, however, is to apply a little knowledge of the process to the facts of your case and arrive at an estimate.
Gather Evidence
The first step in asserting a slip and fall claim is to gather evidence. If you are not too severely injured, this can start at the scene of the accident by asking witnesses for their contact details. If your injury occurred at a business, report your accident to the manager and ask them to prepare an accident report.
Other types of evidence might include:
- Photographs of the scene of the accident
- CCTV footage of the accident
- Expert testimony (from an accident reconstruction expert or a medical specialist, for example)
- Maintenance records, such as if your accident occurred on a department store escalator
An experienced personal injury lawyer in New York should be able to collect many more items of evidence to prove your claim.
Wait for Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI)
You reach MMI when your doctor declares that you are unlikely to benefit from further medical treatment. Optimistically, this could mean a full recovery. Pessimistically, it could mean permanent disability that no additional treatment can remedy (an amputated arm, for example).
In any case, reaching MMI renders it much easier to calculate the amount of medical expenses you need to claim. The length of time required to reach MMI can vary from days to years.
Establish Your Damages
Establishing your economic damages involves gathering various forms of documentation. These might include medical bills, proof of lost earnings, receipts/invoices for out-of-pocket expenses, etc.
Establishing the amount of your non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, can get tricky. In many cases, claimants set non-economic damages as a multiple of 1.5 to 5 times the amount of their economic damages.
Negotiate With the Insurance Company
Most slip and fall claims end at the negotiating table. Typically, neither side wants to take matters to court. A business, in particular, might be reluctant to risk the publicity that a lawsuit might bring. You can use this reluctance to your advantage during settlement negotiations.
In any case, negotiations can last weeks or months. A lawyer can help you expedite your claim.
File a Personal Injury Lawsuit, If Necessary
Filing a lawsuit doesn’t mean you have to go to trial, but it does ramp up the pressure. In fact, you will lose your right to compensation if you don’t file a lawsuit by the statute of limitations deadline (typically three years from the accident).
You can offer to withdraw your lawsuit in exchange for a decent settlement. This strategy often works. However, if your case proceeds all the way to trial, it might take years to resolve.
Mediation
A judge may pressure you to at least try mediation before they will schedule a trial. If mediation is successful, it might add a few weeks to the time it takes to resolve your claim.
Disbursement of Funds
Many slip and fall accident victims rely on large insurance companies to pay their claims. If you are one of them, you might have to wait a while longer to receive your settlement money.
Signing a settlement agreement kicks off a process that can last several weeks. The insurance company will send the settlement check to your lawyer, who will deduct appropriate expenses, such as legal fees and medical liens (if any).
A New York Personal Injury Attorney Can Help With Your Slip and Fall Accident Claim
The biggest obstacle to a generous settlement for your slip and fall claim is likely to be the insurance company’s reluctance to compromise at the negotiating table–especially if you’re representing yourself. An experienced lawyer can expedite your claim without settling for less than the amount you deserve.
Contact a New York personal injury lawyer for a free initial consultation to discuss your slip and fall case.
Contact Our Slip and Fall Accident Law Firm in New York City
If you’ve been injured in an accident in Manhattan, NY, and need legal help, contact our New York City slip and fall accident lawyers at Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation.
Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers
100 Wall St 15th Floor
New York, NY 10005
(212) 514-5007