It typically takes three to four weeks to get a cheque after you have settled your personal injury case.
However, it entirely depends on the following:
- Your situation
- The insurance company you made a settlement with
- Whether you filed your claim under personal injury protection (PIP) or liability insurance
Your personal injury attorney has to complete many formalities after settling your case. They need to ensure that the majority of settlement money goes into your pocket rather than your medical provider or other entities.
This blog post discusses the factors that affect the timeline of receiving money from a personal injury settlement.
Factors Influencing the Time Frame for Receiving Money After a Personal Injury Settlement
The main factors are whether you settled your personal injury claim with the at-fault driver or filed your personal injury claim under your PIP insurance policy.
If Settled Your Personal Injury Claim With the At-Fault Driver’s Insurance Company
Your attorney will check certain factors after settling your claim that dictate the time frame to receive your money.
These factors are:
Medical Bills
Your attorney contacts your medical provider to confirm if you need additional treatments that require more money and if there are any pending bills that you are not aware of. Furthermore, your lawyer will negotiate with your healthcare provider to reduce your medical bills.
ERISA Lien
ERISA stands for the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Your employer likely has a lien on your settlement amount if they paid for your medical expenses under ERISA.
Your attorney double-checks with your employer-sponsored health insurance company if they have a lien. If they do, your attorney negotiates with them and asks them to reduce it or waive it.
VA Lien
The Veterans Administration (VA) likely has a lien on your settlement amount if you are a veteran and the VA paid for your medical care.
The treatment of the VA lien is the same as the ERISA lien. Your attorney confirms with the VA whether it has a lien they are unaware of. If the VA has, your attorney will try to negotiate with them to waive it or reduce it.
Bankruptcy
If you file for bankruptcy, it can significantly impact how much of the settlement amount goes into your pocket.
Your attorney needs to understand whether a creditor has a lien on your account or what will happen after the settlement money goes to your bank account. For example, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy allows the creditors to seize cash and bank accounts.
Thus, your attorney makes sure bankruptcy impacts your settlement amount as little as possible. Although your attorney is already acquainted with this information and filed your claim based on it, they will double-check so you don’t have to face any uncertain expenses in the future.
Sometimes, the insurance company bureaucracy can cause delays in releasing your settlement amount.
If You Filed Your Claim Under Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
If you live in a no-fault state, the laws likely need you to file your personal injury claim under PIP first. For instance, if you were involved in an accident in Venice, Florida, your Venice personal injury attorneys will file your claim with your insurer under PIP.
They will later file your claim with the at-fault driver, as PIP covers your injury expenses to a limit of $10,000.
Typically, your insurer will likely take four to five weeks from the day you filed your claim under PIP. However, it’s not definite and depends on your situation. They need to investigate your claim and complete many time-consuming tasks such as the following:
- Your insurer needs to interview all the people involved in an accident.
- Your insurer needs to collect all the evidence, including any footage of the accident, witness statements, the police report, etc.
- Your insurer needs to complete all the paperwork before giving you your money.
If your crash involved more than two vehicles, you likely have to wait longer since there are many parties involved.
Conclusion
Generally, you have to wait for at least three to four weeks after settling your claim with the at-fault driver’s insurer or at least four to five weeks after filing your claim under PIP.
