The amount of time it takes to be paid after you're awarded a personal injury settlement can vary depending on a variety of factors such as the number of claims you're filing, the amount of paperwork necessary to prove your claims, and the number of witnesses involved. But there are some things you can do to help speed the process of getting paid along – consider putting these techniques to work for you:
Gather Some Info
Instead of waiting for your lawyer or a court appointed case manager to collect documents needed to prove your claims, ensure that it gets taken care of quickly by collecting as much of the paperwork as possible yourself. This can be done by simply calling the establishments ahead of time and requesting a copy of each specific document you're in need of, so the paperwork will be ready when you get there to pick it up. You may even be able to have the paperwork emailed or faxed to you. Here are some things you'll need to collect:
- Medical Records
- Psychotherapy Receipts and Scheduling
- Physical Therapy Progress Reports
- Loss of Income Verification
If you aren't able to go to work due to injuries stemming from the case, put together proof of your inability to work by getting letters from the doctor and your employer, collecting documentation proving how much money you're losing, and gathering verification of any income that you do still receive.
Implement Persistence
It's important to keep in mind that as many as one new personal injury claim is filed every two seconds in the United States, which overwhelms the court system with a lot of paperwork to get through at any given time. Because of this, you might experience delays if you don't stay on top of deadlines.
Of course you don't want to bombard your representative with calls on a daily basis, but you should get everything that is agreed upon in writing and make follow-up calls, even if a deadline is missed by a day. This will help to ensure that your case isn't held up in the system's workflow and that your representative knows you're closely managing your case.
Go for a Lump Sum Payment
If you are awarded a settlement paid in installments or if a delay is put on your awarded payment, you can get a lump sum payment quickly by taking advantage of a structured settlement payout service that will pay your award amount directly to you, minus an agreed-upon service fee, and then collect your settlement later as it comes in. All you typically need to get started is proof of pending settlement payments – it's like getting a loan by using your settlement as collateral and as repayment.
These tips and tricks should minimize frustrations and help ensure that you aren't waiting for months on end to get a payment in the mail. Visit a site like myLumpsum.com for more information.
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