How Long Does a Personal Injury or Car Accident Case Take?

You were hurt, the bills are real, and your claim seems to be crawling. If you’re wondering what’s taking so long and when you’ll see any money, that’s normal, because much of the work happens out of sight. The plain answer is that there’s no standard timeline. Two things usually set the pace: how long it takes to know how you’ll heal, and whether the claim settles with the insurer or needs a lawsuit. Insurers usually won’t settle an injury claim until you’ve finished medical treatment (Utah Insurance Department). A lawsuit adds time: tort lawsuits that ended in 2012 and 2013 in 10 urban counties took 16 months on average from filing to resolution (National Center for State Courts). And after you settle, a few steps still come before your check.

This guide is part of our complete guide to personal injury claims.

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How long does each stage of a personal injury case take?

A case can settle at any point along the way, and most stages have no set length, so the last column shows what sets the pace.

How long does it take to settle without a lawsuit?

Before any lawsuit, most of the time goes to healing and paperwork.

The first weeks

Get medical care and describe every symptom, report the injury, and keep every bill, photo and name. Notify your own insurer as your policy requires. Many people talk to a lawyer now, while the evidence is fresh.

Treatment and maximum medical improvement

This stage runs on your recovery, not the calendar. Insurers usually won’t settle a bodily injury claim until you’ve completed medical treatment, which can mean a long wait if your injuries need extensive care (Utah Insurance Department). The point where your condition levels off is often called maximum medical improvement, or MMI. A U.S. Department of Labor compensation program for certain work-related illnesses defines it as the point when the covered illness “is stabilized and is unlikely to improve with or without additional medical treatment.”

Waiting protects you. Settling means signing a release, which amounts to giving up your right to sue over the injury (Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute), so the amount you accept is generally final. But the deadline to sue keeps running while you treat. If it gets close, your lawyer can file the lawsuit to protect it, and the case can still settle later.

The demand

Once your doctors can describe your recovery and any future care, your lawyer gathers your medical records, bills and proof of lost pay, then sends the insurer a written demand: what happened, how you were hurt, what it has cost you and what you’re asking for. For what drives that number, see what a personal injury case is worth.

Records take time. Under federal privacy rules, a provider must act on your own request for your records within 30 days, with one extension of up to 30 more if it explains the delay in writing (45 CFR 164.524(b)(2)).

Negotiation

The adjuster reviews the demand and responds, and the two sides trade offers until they agree or stall. The claims process is familiar ground for the insurer, which handles claims every day, and new ground for you, so ask your lawyer what each offer is based on. Before you accept, get a written estimate of what you’d take home after the fee, case costs and liens; how personal injury lawyers get paid shows the math.

How long does a personal injury lawsuit take?

Filing a lawsuit moves the claim into court, where rules and a judge set the schedule. It doesn’t mean your case is headed for trial. Talks can continue, and judges encourage the two sides to settle to avoid the expense and delay of a trial (U.S. Courts). If you’re still deciding whether to sue, see whether a personal injury lawsuit is worth it.

Filing and discovery

The lawsuit starts when your lawyer files a complaint with the court and serves a copy on the person or business being sued. Then comes discovery, the formal exchange of information such as witnesses’ names and documents. It can include depositions, where a witness answers questions under oath while a court reporter records every word (U.S. Courts).

What do the studies say about how long lawsuits take?

Two cautions: the studies are more than a decade old and describe other people’s cases, and they count from the day the lawsuit was filed, so the months of treatment and negotiation before filing come on top.

What happens at case evaluation and mediation?

Both are ways to settle a lawsuit without a trial. A mediator is a neutral person who helps the two sides talk and look for a settlement but has no power to decide the case (in Michigan, MCR 2.411(A)(2)). Michigan also uses case evaluation, in which a panel of three puts a dollar value on the case.

Will your case go to trial?

Most cases don’t. In a U.S. Justice Department survey of state courts, about 4% of tort cases were resolved by a trial in 2005 (Bureau of Justice Statistics). A trial adds time at both ends: waiting for a date on the court’s calendar, and what can follow the verdict. In the same survey, one side or both filed post-trial motions in nearly 1 in 3 tort trials, and a notice of appeal in 13%.

How long does it take to get a settlement check?

Not on the day you say yes. A few steps come first, and the paperwork, plus anyone else with a claim to the money, sets the pace:

1. You sign a release. The insurer will require one before it pays (Utah Insurance Department). If a lawsuit is pending, papers are filed to end it, and some settlements need a judge’s approval first.
2. The insurer pays. Some states set a deadline once a lawsuit settles: in New York, generally 21 days after the signed release and a stipulation ending the case are handed to the defendant or sent by certified or registered mail (N.Y. CPLR 5003-a), and in Pennsylvania, 20 calendar days after the defendant receives the signed release, unless the two sides agree otherwise in writing (Pa. R.C.P. 229.1). Otherwise, check what your settlement agreement says.
3. The money goes into your lawyer’s trust account. Under the American Bar Association’s model ethics rules (your state’s version may differ), clients’ money must be kept in an account separate from the lawyer’s own (ABA Model Rule 1.15(a)). If it’s a check, federal rules let a bank hold the part of a day’s check deposits over $6,725 (as of September 2026) for a “reasonable period,” generally up to five extra business days for a local check (12 CFR 229.12(b), 229.13(b), (h)).
4. Liens are paid from your share. If Medicare paid for your care, it must be repaid within 60 days of your receiving the money (42 CFR 411.24(h)). In a liability case, you may be able to get Medicare’s demand amount before you settle (CMS). See who gets paid from your settlement.
5. You get a closing statement and your share. In a contingency-fee case, the lawyer must give you a written statement showing what you receive and how it was figured, and, unless the law or your agreement allows otherwise, must promptly deliver the money you’re entitled to (ABA Model Rules 1.5(c), 1.15(d)).

If someone disputes part of the money, such as a lien amount, only that part should wait: the lawyer must keep it separate until the dispute is resolved and promptly pay out the rest (ABA Model Rule 1.15(e)).

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How long do slip-and-fall, malpractice and wrongful death cases take?

The same stages apply, but some kinds of cases take longer, as the studies above show. What adds time:

• Car accidents: how clear fault is and how much insurance there is. See how car accident claims work.
• Slip and fall: evidence about the hazard, such as video and inspection records, and any notice deadline if public property was involved. See how slip-and-fall claims work.
• Medical malpractice: expert medical opinions, and in Michigan, a written notice of intent to the provider, generally at least 182 days before the lawsuit is filed (MCL 600.2912b(1)). See how medical malpractice claims work.
• Wrongful death: in Michigan, court hearings to approve a settlement in a pending lawsuit and to divide the money (MCL 600.2922(5), (6)). See how wrongful death claims work.

What to do next

1. Keep treating, and keep records: every bill, pay stub and note on what you can’t do.
2. Put your deadlines on a calendar. Talks don’t stop the clock. In Michigan, see Michigan’s injury deadlines, from PIP notice to the three-year rule.
3. Ask your lawyer for a written status update: the stage your case is in, what it’s waiting on and what comes next.
4. If you haven’t talked to a lawyer yet, get a free case review. It’s four quick questions. In Michigan, you can also compare injury lawyers near you.
5. Before you sign a release, get a written estimate of your net, with each lien listed, and ask how long the payout should take.

What waiting can cost

• Your right to sue. A lawsuit filed after the deadline can be thrown out, however strong the case, and negotiating doesn’t pause it (in Michigan, MCL 600.5805(1), 600.5856).
• Old PIP bills in Michigan. A lawsuit for unpaid no-fault benefits generally can’t recover losses incurred more than a year before it’s filed, unless a specific claim for payment paused that clock (MCL 500.3145(2), (3)).
• Interest on a Medicare debt. Interest runs from the date of Medicare’s demand letter if the debt isn’t resolved in the time the letter allows (CMS).
• Evidence. Video gets recorded over, and witnesses become harder to find.

What a good outcome looks like

You know which stage your case is in and what it’s waiting on. Your bills are paid by the coverage that owes them, and your deadline is protected while you heal. When you settle, you know how your injuries have healed, the closing statement matches the estimate you were given, and your share is paid promptly. From wondering why nothing is happening to knowing where your case stands, what it’s waiting on and when your money will move.

Updated September 25, 2026

This guide is general information, not legal advice, and laws change. For advice about your situation, talk to a lawyer licensed in your state. Reading this page or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.