After proceeding with a personal injury case, it is likely that in most cases, you will have settled the matter and are looking forward to receiving your compensation without delays.. However, your attorney tells you that it could take a few months before you get the check. This article will explain when you will receive your personal injury settlement check after settling your case. It must be noted that, while you will receive your personal injury compensation check, it will take at least 6 weeks if not 2 to 3 months or longer before the necessary settlement paperwork has been completed. There are a number of factors that affect the duration of receipt of your settlement check. Some of these factors include the following:
- Release and settlement agreement - upon settling the case, it is now up to your lawyer and the defense attorney to agree on the settlement documents. The settlement document takes the form of a release and possibly a separate settlement agreement. In the event that you settle directly with the insurance company without a lawyer, the release and settlement agreement could simply be a short form. However, if your case proceeds to a lawsuit, it becomes more complex and will require a release and settlement agreement that could be 10-20 pages long. In bigger injury cases, the defense attorney may need a couple of weeks just to prepare the release and settlement agreement; these documents will be sent to your lawyer who may very well disagree with certain terms of the agreement. The two lawyers may argue about it for a while and this takes time. In the event that they fail to agree on the final terms of the release, they have to go to trial and have the judge rule on what the settlement agreement should say. As a result, this puts the settlement on hold for months. Once you get the release, it is important to read it carefully and review it with your lawyer which may take a few days. You would then sign the release and your lawyer would return it to the defense attorney for it to be finalized.
- Liens - after the settlement, your lawyer and the defense lawyer have to determine whether there are any liens on your case. Liens can come from healthcare providers, state or federal tax authority or state child support agencies. Your lawyer will certainly want to conduct their own investigation to ensure that there are no liens on your case, however, the insurer will do the same but at their own speed. As a result, they will not send the settlement check to your lawyer until they are satisfied that there are no liens on your case or your lawyer confirms in writing that he or she will pay the liens out of your settlement money.
- Insurance Clearance- Finally the insurance sends the check to your lawyer, who deposits it, waits for it to clear before dispersing your share of the settlement to you.
