While there are rare exceptions, the vast majority of personal injury claims filed in Pennsylvania end with private settlement agreements rather than civil court trials. However, because there isn’t a judge or jury directly overseeing the settlement process, the conclusion of that process doesn’t always follow the exact same pattern for every claimant.
With that in mind, the answer to the question of how long it takes to get paid after agreeing to a settlement can vary from person to person. Here’s a broad overview of what kinds of things can speed up or delay this final stage of the settlement process, as well as what you can expect to happen to the money you’ve negotiated before it’s put into your bank account.
What Happens After You Settle a Personal Injury Claim?
While settling a personal injury claim doesn’t involve a court directly at any point, agreeing to a settlement offer means accepting that your case is closed in a legally binding way. The first obstacle to getting paid after a settlement offer is accepted is formally drawing up and signing a settlement contract, which can sometimes be done at the moment an agreement is reached but usually happens a few days afterward once everyone’s legal representatives have hashed out the terms.
If you have help from a personal injury attorney with negotiating a settlement, you’ll likely get much more money in the end than you would have if you’d handled your case alone, but you also won’t get paid right away even after you’ve signed all the papers to formally end your claim. Instead, the settlement money will generally be sent to your legal representative, who will usually put it into something like a trust account so it’s kept separate from their personal and business income.
Understanding Settlement Deductions
The main reason why settlement money will be sent to your attorney first before you get a paper check or wire transfer is so that the attorney can handle deductions from your settlement award on your behalf. These deductions typically aren’t federal or state taxes since personal injury damage awards are almost always considered nontaxable income.
However, you likely will have several creditors make formal requests to be paid money from your settlement in order to cover debts you’ve built up as a result of your injury, such as medical bills and car repair costs. You also may need to reimburse your own insurance company for damages they helped you cover in the short term, and if you have child support obligations or something similar, you may have back payments for those taken out of your settlement before it’s sent to you.
Generally, this entire process can be wrapped up in a matter of weeks after your case formally concludes, but to be clear, that’s a broad estimate that won’t be perfectly applicable to every person. If you want to get a clear picture of exactly how long it will take you to get paid after a settlement, your best bet is to seek advice from a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer. Call Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers today.
