Pedestrian Accident Injury Claims

Answer:

At an initial client meeting, one of the things that we will walk through with new clients who’ve been involved in pedestrian accidents in Washington is the timeline of what to expect. When you hire an attorney, the first month or two is going to be spent collecting the information that we need in order to prove your case. That will include witness statements, property damage documentation, photographs, and hard evidence that we can collect while the evidence is still out there and available to be collected.
For the next few months while you’re still treating, what we do is work with you and your providers to be sure that you’re getting the treatment that you need to get well. Also we need to be sure that we’re avoiding red flag issues such as gaps in care or non-compliance with your doctor’s orders. We stay on top of your treatment to be sure that that does not happen. Once you’re done with treatment, we collect all of your records and bills, and then we submit a settlement package to the insurance company. That negotiation process is typically going to take about two to three months.

At the end of that process, we will have a top number for you, and that’s the best number that we’ve been able to negotiate outside of court. A client at that point has complete control, so you decide at that point if you want to settle or if you want to go to court. As your attorney, we would provide you with the best guidance on where we think the risks and benefits are in making that decision. If you do decide to settle, that’s good. You would typically have your check within about two weeks. If you decide to go to court, that is typically about a year-long process. We would walk through that entire process with you and represent you all the way up through trial.