*The results are conditioned to the unique circumstances of each case. These results do not guarantee your case will result in the same compensation.
The short answer to that question is that most Personal Injury and Workers’ Compensation cases take at least one year or more before they are settled. Many can take much longer. Workers’ Compensation cases often can be shorter depending on circumstances. This is usually true, not because the lawyer is taking that long to process the case. Instead, Personal Injury and Workers’ Compensation cases usually take that long for medical reasons. It is difficult to determine the permanent nature of one’s injuries in a short amount of time. For that reason, your Doctor or Chiropractor is usually a better person to answer this question than your lawyer!
When you have been in an accident and have suffered an injury, your lawyer cannot effectively make a claim for money damages until you have medical evidence to support that claim. If you have a permanent injury, the settlement value of your case is worth much more. Therefore, it is important to support your claim with medical evidence that your injury is a permanent one in order to get the best settlement. In order to do so, you must have the medical opinion of your Doctor or Chiropractor that your injury is permanent. This important medical evidence usually comes in the form of a medical report prepared by the Doctor/Chiropractor.
Most Doctors and Chiropractors are unwilling to give their opinion that your injury is permanent until at least one year has passed since your accident. This allows sufficient time for the injury to heal and also provides time for any hidden aspects of your injury, such as a herniated disc in your neck or back, to reveal itself.
After we have medical reports from your Doctors, we will then assemble the reports and medical records, along with other important documents such as the accident report, witness statements, etc. and submit all of these materials to the insurance company for the at-fault party along with our “demand for settlement” (we give the insurance company a figure as to how much we are willing to settle the case for).
We will get your permission or approval for that figure before we give it to the insurance company.
The process of collecting all these materials and assembling the settlement brochure can often take several months.
After the insurance company has these materials, it often will ask for additional information. This can take more time again.
After that, the insurance company will take more time to evaluate your claim before getting back to us with an “offer of settlement” (that is the amount of money that they are willing to pay to settle the case).
After the initial offer is made, there is often a period of negotiation in which the parties go back and forth with counter-demands and counter-offers.
This process usually takes many months to complete.
If these negotiations are not successful, we have no choice but to “file suit.”
I understand how overwhelming this can be. Let me handle the legal complexities while you focus on your recovery and getting back to normal.
Client Reviews
Google Review Schmidt Law Firm is so much more than the usual out for their back pocket firm they are a group of truly caring people. I was hit by a car & have memory loss. I don’t know how many times they all had to go over and over the same thing with me. They even gave me reminder calls for my doctors appointments. When things were so overwhelming I would call and all I could do is cry and they listened and never once complained or cut me short. Doug and Vanessa were all very helpful so was the rest of the staff. God Bless them all. By the way they got me a lot more than I had hoped for. You really don’t want to be on the opposing side of the table of Doug, he will rip you before you know he did it and he does it in such a nice way.
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“I wanted to extend my personal thanks and appreciation, as well as that of my siblings. We are appreciative of the representation you extended to our father. He always battled for the “little guy,” and you did that for him thru this process. Please extend this thank you to Molly as well. Thank you.”
“Doug Schmidt and his team were a godsend – they were compassionate and professional in helping my sister and I navigate our mother’s Wrongful Death. They were easy to communicate with, and I always felt my concerns and opinions were being heard. I would recommend Schmidt Law Firm to anyone who asks.”
“I feel very lucky to have Mr. Schmidt working for me. He took my case when my first lawyer would not and could not fight his way out of a paper bag. My case was very involved but Mr. Schmidt made it look so easy.”
“Doug and his team are top notch. They are hard working and meticulous with getting the best results… I felt like I was in good hands through the entire process. I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.”
“I wanted to tell you thank you for everything you have done for me I really appreciate it…I truly appreciate everything you did just taking the time to answer my questions, makes me feel good about what was going on and understanding what was happening and everything and just being patient with me. Again I truly appreciate ha...
“Just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you and your staff for all your efforts to collect benefits on behalf of my husband. Your kindness and sympathy during our initial visit with you was very much appreciated.”
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by Founding Partner, Dean M. Salita, with more than 30 years of legal experience as a personal injury attorney.
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1600 Hopkins Crossroad
Minnetonka, MN 55305
Phone (952) 473-4530
Toll Free 1-800-656-8450
Fax (952) 544-1308
call us: 952.473.4530
