After winning a personal injury case, whether through settlement or trial, you want to get the compensation money immediately. After all, you have medical expenses and lots of other accident-related bills to pay. Unfortunately, you won’t receive your settlement check right after the conclusion of your case. You’ll have to wait a couple of weeks as your settlement check gets processed.
The process of receiving a settlement check in Florida
While the process of getting your settlement money shouldn’t take long, it involves four simple steps before your personal injury claim can be officially completed. This is usually four to six weeks.
1. Signing the release form and other important documents
After a settlement has been reached, the first thing you’ll need to do is to sign a settlement release form. This is a document that the plaintiff signs once their personal injury case has been concluded. The purpose of this form is to permanently prevent the injured party from pursuing further legal recourse for the related accident.
You must submit the settlement release form before the at-fault party’s insurance company disburses the settlement check.
2. Waiting for insurance company processes to clear your check
Upon submitting your signed release form, it is forwarded to the insurer for processing. Because insurance companies are usually large, bureaucratic organizations, it may take a few days or even weeks before various parties at the insurance company process and close your claim.
After this, the settlement check is sent to your Florida personal injury attorney, not you.
3. Paying liens and legal fees
As soon as your personal injury lawyer receives the settlement check, they may hold it in an escrow account and wait for it to mature. This is a pretty quick process and normally takes two to three days.
After this, any claim against your settlement, such as medical liens, will be deducted. That means if you have unpaid medical bills or there’s any insurer that covers your medical expenses, your attorney will be tasked to pay them.
Your personal injury lawyer will also deduct their legal fees and any out-of-pocket expenses related to your personal injury case or lawsuit from the injury settlement amount.
4. Receiving payment
The final step is receiving the remaining settlement amount from your lawyer’s office. This is usually accompanied by a statement showing what was deductible and for what reasons.
From the time you signed the release form to when you receive your settlement check, the process should take roughly six weeks. It’s always a good idea to seek clarification from your personal injury attorney if anything seems unclear to you.
How long does the settlement check process take?
While the settlement check process in a Florida personal injury case should take four to six, sometimes this timeline may stretch to as long as three months or even a year. Factors like liens, paperwork, issues with the bank, check clearing delays, and many others may cause the process to take longer than usual. The good news is that you can always reach out to your lawyer and ask for an update if you notice any delays.
Consult with a Daytona Beach personal injury attorney at Zimmet & Zimmet today
Simple as it sounds, the process of receiving a settlement can be too convoluted. But you don’t have to worry about that if you let our experienced Daytona Beach personal injury attorney handle your case.
If you have suffered an injury in an accident and believe another person is at fault, give us a call today at 386-210-3720 to book a free consultation and learn more on how we can help.
