Fremont Car Accident Settlement Process

In a typical Fremont car accident settlement process, an attorney would wait until the victim finishes their medical treatment and then decide to make a demand.

Throughout the process, a lawyer would be in constant communication with the victim. They may also ask for medical bills, records, reports, lost wage statements, and photos. This is done in an effort to create a settlement demand package. If a settlement is not agreed upon, a lawsuit may be filed.

After filing a lawsuit, an experienced attorney may begin the discovery. The discovery would be depositions and questions under oath, interrogatories, and requests for production of various documents. Once the discovery is complete, the mediation follows. Mediation is the negotiation between the plaintiff and the defendant. A private facilitator is usually hired to conduct the negotiations. Normally, pre-lawsuit demand letters, negotiations, or mediation would settle a case. If that does not work, they would proceed to trial.

Length of Time it Takes to Receive a Settlement

The general length of time it takes to complete a Fremont car accident settlement process varies. It may take two to three months after the person is finished treating before attorneys could get all the medical records, bills, and health insurance liens to make a demand for settlement. After they make a demand for settlement, typically within two weeks to two months, there is a negotiation.

If the demand is successful, the case could settle at that time. If it is unsuccessful, typically a lawsuit would be filed. A lawsuit is resolved either by settlement or trial between three months if there is a quick settlement to a year and a half or two years if it goes to trial or gets close to the day of trial.

Expediting a Settlement Process

If there is a quick settlement pre-suit, the process could be expedited. In some cases, the parties may agree to have a quick mediation to try to resolve the case. It is up to both parties to agree to a quick mediation. If both parties deemed it in their self-interest to try to settle the case fast, there are means and mechanisms to settle the case fast.

Issues Encountered When Negotiating a Settlement

Some of the issues a person might encounter during the Fremont car accident settlement process may be establishing liability, meaning who is responsible for the accident. Another may be that a person is waiting for the health insurance to pay some of the medical bills. Typically, a client is going to want to know that all their bills are taken care of and they may be waiting for a health insurance to pay the medical bills. Another problem is the health insurance lien.

Often, the insurance is not able to provide a person with the lien, meaning the amount they back, especially if it is Medicare or Medicaid.

Medicare is the federal program of health insurance and Medicaid is the state version of health insurance for low-income people. Typically, until a person has that final number, it is difficult to settle the case.

Receiving a Settlement in a Timely Manner

Besides following regular procedure, there are other steps someone could take to ensure they receive their settlement in a timely manner. First, a person needs to finish treatment so the attorney could evaluate the case. Second, they need to get an attorney involved, especially someone that has a good background in obtaining the insurance liens and negotiating the insurance liens.

Oftentimes, a person could settle a case, but until there is an insurance lien, the case may take six months to a year and a half to settle because they are waiting on medical bills to be paid and insurance liens to be calculated.

Jury’s Involvement in a Car Accident Settlement

A jury does not usually have any involvement in a car accident settlement because a settlement occurs either before a lawsuit or after a lawsuit. However, a jury is the final arbiter of how a case could turn out. The risk of a jury in a civil case is that they may give a person substantially less than what the plaintiff is asking for. This may deter a victim from pursuing a civil suit and choosing to settle case instead.

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