Most injury cases take longer than clients expect, and the reasons are usually ordinary. A demand cannot be sent until you have finished treating, because the value of the case depends on the final diagnosis. The insurance company then takes weeks to respond and often months to negotiate. If a lawsuit is filed, Los Angeles Superior Court sets trial 18 to 24 months out, and the defense has no reason to pay early. None of that means something is wrong. A claim that settles with the insurer typically takes four to ten months after treatment ends, and a filed case takes twelve to twenty-four months.
What separates normal delay from a problem is whether the time is being used. A case that is waiting for an orthopedic surgeon at Northridge to decide whether a torn rotator cuff needs surgery is waiting for a reason, because a demand sent before that decision is a demand for a sprain. A case that has been sitting with an adjuster for four months with no counter offer and no lawsuit filed is not waiting for anything. It is being ignored, and the fix is a complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. The question to ask about your case is not how long it has taken but what is it waiting on right now.
Why is my personal injury case taking so long?
Usually because one of four things is happening: your treatment is not finished, the insurance company is slow or is waiting you out, the case is in litigation with a court schedule that runs 18 to 24 months, or a lien or coverage issue has to be resolved before settlement. These are normal. A case that has stalled with no treatment, no demand and no lawsuit for months is the exception and deserves a direct question to your attorney.
The normal reasons
Treatment comes first. A demand is sent after you reach what doctors call maximum medical improvement, meaning you are either healed or your condition is stable and the future is predictable. For a soft tissue neck injury that is two to four months. For a disc herniation with injections it is six to nine. For a surgery it is a year or more, because the demand needs the surgical report, the recovery and the surgeon’s opinion about permanent limits. Settling before that is settling blind.
The insurance company is second. Once the demand goes out, the adjuster has to request and review the records, run the claim through an evaluation program and get authority from a supervisor. Thirty to sixty days for a first response is typical. Negotiation then takes a few rounds. A carrier that is behaving reasonably takes two to four months from demand to agreement.
Litigation is third. If the case is filed, the defense gets 30 days to answer, discovery runs six to twelve months, mediation is scheduled when the depositions are done, and the trial date is set by the court. Los Angeles civil courts typically set trial 18 to 24 months after filing. Defense attorneys are paid by the hour and insurance companies hold money as long as they can. The case moves when a deadline forces it to.
Coverage and liens are fourth. A driver with a $30,000 minimum policy under Vehicle Code 16056 and a client with $80,000 in bills means a policy limits demand against the driver, then an underinsured motorist claim with your own carrier, which is a second negotiation and sometimes an arbitration. A Medicare lien has to be finalized before disbursement. Each of these adds months.
The reasons that are not normal
An adjuster who has not responded to a demand in 90 days and has not been pushed. A case where treatment ended a year ago and no demand has been sent. A statute of limitations under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 that is six months away with no lawsuit on file and no settlement in sight. A client whose calls are not returned. Those are signs that the file is sitting, and the way to find out is to ask your attorney a specific question: what was the last thing that happened on my case, and what is the next thing?
What the insurance company gets out of delay
Time works for the carrier. The longer a claim sits, the more likely the client has moved, lost a receipt, changed phones, gone back to work and started looking fine on social media, or simply become tired enough to take a low number. Carriers know that a client with a car payment and no income is more likely to accept $15,000 in month three than $40,000 in month fourteen. Some carriers also run claims through software that discounts for gaps and delays, so the longer treatment is spread out, the lower the number the program produces.
The carrier’s other tool is the request for more. More records, a recorded statement, the prior five years of medical history, an independent medical examination. Each request is a few weeks, and each few weeks is a payment deferred. Some requests are legitimate. Many are not, and the difference is whether the attorney responds to them with a deadline or lets them sit.
What you should do now
Finish your treatment and keep every appointment. Gaps in treatment are the carrier’s main argument that the injury was minor, and they also delay the demand because the attorney has to explain each gap.
Ask your attorney for a status update with specifics: what stage the case is in, what it is waiting on, and when the next step will happen. A good answer sounds like “we are waiting for Dr. Patel’s final report, which should arrive by the 15th, and the demand goes out that week.” A vague answer is a reason to ask again.
Give the office what it asks for the day it asks. Signed authorizations, pay stubs, photos, the name of the urgent care you went to in Van Nuys. The file waits for you as often as it waits for the carrier.
Stay reachable and stay off social media about your injuries and your activities.
Common mistakes that make a case drag
Switching attorneys midway without a reason, which resets the learning curve and creates a fee dispute that the carrier will happily wait out. Pressuring the attorney to send a demand before treatment is done, which produces a low offer and a worse case. Refusing a fair offer out of frustration with the delay, which guarantees another year. Taking a lawsuit funding advance, which makes a quick settlement impossible because the advance has to be paid back with interest. Ignoring the lien letters from your health plan, which leaves a number unresolved when everything else is ready.
Questions people ask next
How long does the insurance company have to respond to a demand in California? The claims regulations require a response within 40 days of receiving proof of claim and ongoing updates every 30 days, but adjusters routinely take longer, and the practical enforcement is filing a lawsuit.
Does filing a lawsuit make my case take longer? Sometimes, but a lawsuit is usually filed because the case has already stopped moving. Many cases settle within a few months of filing, once the carrier sees that the claim will be litigated.
Can I settle part of my case now and the rest later? Not with the at-fault driver’s carrier. A settlement releases the whole claim. Medical payments coverage on your own policy can pay bills now, and some providers will treat on a lien while the case is pending.
Manoukian Law Firm handles injury cases throughout Los Angeles County, and the attorney personally tracks each file, sends the demand when the medicine supports it, and files suit when the carrier stops moving. If your case has stalled and you want a clear answer about where it stands, call (818) 818-5031 for a free consultation.
