When plaintiffs agree to settlement offers from defendants in personal injury cases, they’re sometimes under the impression they’ll receive settlement checks right away. But as any personal injury settlement lawyer will tell you, this is rarely the case.
In reality, you’ll typically have to wait at least a few weeks, if not longer, for a personal injury settlement lawyer to provide your check. You’ll need to remain patient during this portion of the settlement check timeline.
There are several reasons for the slight delay between when a personal injury case is settled and when you receive your settlement check. Learn about them below.
Your Personal Injury Settlement Lawyer Must Wait for a Check To Arrive
Once you and the defendant in your personal injury case agree to a settlement, the defendant is required to submit a settlement check to your lawyer by a certain date. However, this doesn’t always happen within just a day or two.
In some cases, defendants will send checks immediately to put personal injury cases behind them. In other instances, they’ll drag their feet and take longer than they should to drop checks in the mail.
Stay in touch with your personal injury lawyer after settling your case. They can touch base with the defendant’s lawyer to ensure their client plans to send your check by the agreed-upon deadline.
Your Personal Injury Settlement Lawyer Must Remove the Necessary Fees From Your Settlement
When you agree to a personal injury settlement, you will not collect the entire amount. Your lawyer must remove some important fees and costs from your settlement amount before a check finally makes its way to you.
For example, your personal injury settlement lawyer will take their contingency fees out of your settlement check. These are the fees you agreed to pay your lawyer if they were able to help you earn a settlement or judgment at the beginning of your case.
Your lawyer might also take out additional fees to cover court costs and any expenses related to the expert witnesses they relied on during your case. Additionally, your lawyer might set aside a portion of your settlement amount to pay off any medical liens you used to receive treatment while your lawsuit played out.
Your Personal Injury Settlement Lawyer May Need To Take Further Legal Action
There is a chance the defendant in your personal injury case may refuse to send you a settlement check at all, even though they agreed to do it. They may take this approach if they don’t feel as though they owe you anything, or they might do it simply because they don’t have the funds available.
Either way, your personal injury settlement lawyer may choose to start charging a defendant interest in an effort to force them to pay you. They may also opt to subject a defendant to legal sanctions.
Discuss a situation like this with your personal injury lawyer to decide which steps you would like to take next.
Contact Us To Discover More About Settling Personal Injury Lawsuits
At The Cifarelli Law Firm, we take personal injury lawsuits seriously. We can help you file a lawsuit, handle liability disputes during your case, and explain sometimes-complicated concepts like maximum medical improvement (MMI).
A personal injury settlement lawyer can also extend a helping hand when it’s time to collect your settlement check and deal with any delays in the appropriate manner. Reach out to us at 949-409-6324 to schedule a free consultation so you can discuss your case with an experienced attorney.
