If you’ve been injured in an accident, you’re likely wondering why the settlement is taking so long. In this video, personal injury lawyer Michael Ilyaich explains some of the factors that can impact the length of a settlement. He also offers tips for staying patient and keeping your legal options open during the process.

Speakers: Michael Levitis, Michael Ilyaich

This is Michael Levitis from JurisQ.com Welcome back, we have back with us and attorney, a personal injury attorney, a very experienced seasoned attorney, Michael Ilyaich, a founding partner of Gregory Spektor and Associates. Welcome back.

Michael Ilyaich  05:26

Good to be here, Michael, thank you for having me.

Michael Levitis  05:28

Thank you for your time, because what we do here is we educate people, and we answer people’s questions that we find on the special software we have that works for frequently asked questions on personal injury, and people ask frequently on the internet – why my personal injury claim is taking so long to settle. What do you think?

Michael Ilyaich  06:21

Generally, the answer to the question is, the more money at stake, the longer it takes. In the state of New York, if you’re involved in an accident, and you sustained a serious injury, and the at fault party  has only a $25,000 insurance policy, while those claims move quickly, like peanuts. If you have sustained a serious injury as and the defendant has a large policy, let’s say $500,000 …., and I assume you have $500,000 worth of injuries. Well, insurance company isn’t just going to part ways with half a million dollars …., if that’s all they have to lose, they’re gonna fight us for it.

Michael Levitis  07:08

Michael, frequently the job of insurance company is not to pay, you think you pay them premium, and they’re there just to pay like that.

Michael Ilyaich  07:14

If insurance companies did the right thing by people like you, there will be no need for people like us. So insurance companies, although they should but they don’t do the right thing, when they know when the time comes. So that’s why the other costs in general, the more one that stayed, the longer it takes, if someone had an accident and broke their back, let’s say, as serious spinal fracture – that injury could be worth anywhere between half a million dollars up to a million dollars, if not more. Let’s assume the bad foot body has that type of insurance. Well, that at fault party isn’t just going to part ways with half a million or million boughs. Within months, they’re going to hold us to help through litigation. Why? Simply because you and I are in it to win have failed and are not in it. So many therefore damage control, which means they know they’re going down, they just want to soften the length. Time works for the defendants. They want to plaintiff to get tired. They want to plaintiff to take less money. So a lot of times what they do, let’s assume you had a $500,000 policy and you have $500,000 worth of injuries, defendant will throw an offer out there at let’s say $100,000, which is insufficient, but 100,000 significant amount of money for a lot of people, when they want to get late is anxious, they want the plaintiff to agree to accept less money than the plaintiff should so they would throw 100,000, a half a year later, they would throw another $50,000. So the only way to get what you want out of the insurance company is by pushing the case towards trial and going to actual trial. If needs be the litigation process from the moment you file a summons and complaint starts a lawsuit. But the point of trial, that time frame may take anywhere between 36 to 48 months, assuming we’re not going to get people that are the COVID which is going to shut everybody down. So that 36 to 48 months is to get to the point of trial from the time the lawsuit is filed that from the time when the accident happened because we normally don’t file a lawsuit immediately following the accident. We allow clients to get the necessary treatment to make sure we can survive a summary judgment motion or threshold because once we file a lawsuit, we have a burden of proof, we have to show that our client is a serious injury threshold man every injury is considered …serious, though. Filing  too prematurely, not allowing the client to get the necessary treatment and diagnostic testing, is a bad move also. So that is that from when the accident happened but from when the lawsuit is filed, some cases with via lawsuits immediately if my client occasional my client had an accident with the truck driver and my client was the norm. I know if you’re sequential I file almost immediately. Some cases my client comes in with the neck and back pain. But we don’t have the evidence to survive, you know, we don’t have enough evidence to survive the motion is we’ll file a lawsuit prematurely that the injury is not there, we may not have enough evidence. 

Michael Levitis  10:38

Michael, what I’m hearing here is that it’s really a case by case basis. But the more serious the case is, and the more pushback you’re getting from the insurance company, the defendants, the more you have to fight, it will take time, but I know you are prepared for it, because you are actually litigation attorneys. So when you go to court, and you tell the other side, we will get you, they know you are serious, because we have a whole team to fight for the client.

Michael Ilyaich  11:09

Actually as  you and I sit here,  in our office we have two trials. One of them was in federal court, one of them was in the state’s court.

Michael Levitis  11:18

Michael, I can attest to that, because I was trying to book this interview. I know you’re busy man, and your attorneys are busy. I appreciate your time we finally got you in the place. I know we’re gonna let you go soon, because you have to go through your other trials.

Michael Ilyaich  11:33

But yes, Michael, thank you. If we have to go to trial, what will go to trial, 95% of cases settle before trial, right? More significant cases, so closer to trial, or on the end of trial, or if we have to try the case. So we’ll try that case.

Michael Levitis  11:54

I think that it’s worth it to wait a bit more. But if you’re seriously injured to get compensated because you have to think about it’s not just compensation for you. It’s also for your family because of your injuries. Maybe you cannot work, you can’t sustain your lifestyle, your any work. So you want to have compensation for you and your family are set. This is why you are going to sue for your claim. Michael, thank you so much for your time today. You gave us some great advice, great answers. But I want to hit in our next interview, more hone in when you should make a decision to settle a case or go full blown trial. It’s a very nuanced decision. As you said, majority of cases settle, as you said, 95% settle. But then there is those five that go to full blown trial. I want to hear when it makes sense to actually go to trial. There’ll be now next segment, please stay tuned. I want to tell everybody, right now we’re educating, we are giving you general advice. That’s why Michael Ilyaich is here, a personal injury attorney. But if you want specific advice, if you want second opinion about your case, you don’t have to go to your current attorney. You were in a car accident, you may want to call an attorney right away, by the way, but even a few some time passed, you should still call to find out your rights. The phone number is on the bottom of the screen.

Michael Ilyaich  13:32

Crashinjury.com is our website to get more information or to schedule an appointment.

Michael Levitis  13:36

Yes, and the website is also on the bottom of the screen. Thank you so much, and have a great day.