How long does it take to settle a personal injury lawsuit in Pennsylvania?

A personal injury occurs when a person causes harm or injury to another or their property. Injuries and property damage from a personal injury can result in high medical bills and repair bills. In addition to financial hardship, the victim of a person injury may endure emotional and psychological effects as a result of the incident. To recover compensation for the injuries and damages from a personal injury, the injured party may file a personal injury lawsuit.

A personal injury lawsuit begins with filing a lawsuit and can end before, during or after a trial. The complete legal process for a lawsuit does not have an exact time frame. While the steps may be the same in every lawsuit, the amount of time for each phase varies from case to case. The general steps of a lawsuit are:

  1. The Plaintiff files a Complaint and serves the Defendant to begin the lawsuit.
  2. The Defendant files an Answer to the Complaint.
  3. Each side gathers evidence and produces documents.
  4. Both sides meet to try at settle the case.
  5. If they do not agree to settle, the case goes trial.
  6. During the trial phase, both parties may reach a settlement, or a verdict is rendered in the case.
  7. If neither party appeals the verdict, the case ends by the settlement or verdict.

With the potential of both sides agreeing to settle the lawsuit before going trial, the amount of time it takes to settle a personal injury lawsuit may occur within weeks or months of filing the lawsuit. A trial prolongs the process because the court must set a date for the trial based on availability on the trial calendar. The court date for trial can be several months from the day it is set. When both parties agree to settle the lawsuit, the case can end sooner than a trial.

Other Personal Injury FAQs:

Get Your Free Case Consultation Today!

Contact our law firm today, we can help. It costs you nothing to learn about your legal rights, so why wait?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.