If you had a personal injury claim before COVID-19 or were injured during COVID-19, you may be worried about when you can get paid since many businesses have slowed down during this time. The good news is that there is less impact on the legal area, but there are still things to be aware of.
If You're Having Financial Difficulties
Financial difficulties after a personal injury can put you in a big predicament. The other side may know that you need money now and try to lowball your settlement with the alternative being to have the case drag out in court for weeks or months delaying when you get paid. Even in normal times, this is common because a personal injury often means missing time from work or even not being able to return to the same job. With COVID-19 job losses, many more people find themselves in difficult financial situations.
Unfortunately, this isn't a problem you can entirely avoid. You should look for loans or other ways of temporarily managing your finances so that you don't permanently lose your right to recover even more money by settling too low. You should also look for a personal injury attorney who will push for your right to a speedy trial and recovery to minimize the time until you get paid.
If The Other Party Is Having Financial Difficulties
There are two parts to winning a personal injury claim. One is proving what happened, and the second is actually getting paid. If the other party doesn't have any money, it doesn't matter if the jury immediately agreed with you. Many personal injury claims go through insurance, so this may not even be a problem if the other party had adequate insurance. However, this is another reason to work with your attorney to pursue your case as quickly as possible to avoid alternatives like the other party declaring bankruptcy before you collect.
Court Delays
You should also be aware that some courts are running a little slower than normal due to social distancing measures. That means that as you're trying to push your case through quickly, you may find it takes longer for the court to process things. The best thing to do is to try to get things filed in court as soon as you can while also seeing if the other party will make a reasonable settlement offer.
Contact a personal injury attorney for more information.
Share2 November 2020
When I sued a product manufacturer after a disfiguring accident, I never expected to actually go to court. I assumed that the case would eventually be settled, like most personal injury cases are. To my surprise, they wouldn't budge, and we ended up having to go all the way to court. I was pretty nervous about testifying, but I had a great attorney that prepared me well, and everything went smoothly. In the end, the jury saw things my way. I realized that I probably wasn't the only person to ever experience an unexpected day in court, and that's how I got the idea to start this blog. If you're looking for tips to help you prepare or wondering what to expect when you go to court for a lawsuit, this blog contains important information for you.
