How Long Does a Personal Injury Lawsuit Take to Settle in Long Island, New York?

You’ve got medical bills piling up, maybe you’re missing work, and now you’re stuck waiting for an insurance company or a lawyer to tell you how long settling your case is going to take. That’s frustrating. And if you’ve never been through a personal injury lawsuit before, it’s hard to know what’s normal or what’s stalling your case.

There’s no set timeline for a personal injury claim in New York. Some cases wrap up in a few months. Others take years. It depends on your injuries, how clear the facts are, and whether the other side is causing delays.

If you’re asking how long does a personal injury lawsuit take, the answer depends on several factors, many of which we discuss in this blog. To get a better idea of what to expect, it helps to understand the typical phases most personal injury cases go through.

Most Cases Follow the Same Basic Phases

Your case may settle at any point, but here’s how the process usually plays out when it doesn’t:

• Initial medical treatment and legal consult: First few days to weeks
• Claim investigation and demand letter: 1 to 3 months
• Negotiations: 3 to 6 months if liability and damages are clear
• Filing a lawsuit: If no fair settlement offer comes through
• Discovery (the back-and-forth exchange of evidence): 6 to 12 months
• Trial prep and trial (if needed): Usually scheduled 12 to 24 months after filing
• Appeals (not common): Adds time if either side challenges the result

If the insurance company accepts fault and makes a reasonable offer early, your case could settle before you file a lawsuit. But that’s not the norm for serious injuries or contested cases.

What Can Speed Things Up or Slow Them Down

Several factors directly affect how long your personal injury case takes:

1. How Badly You Were Hurt

If your injuries are severe, such as a traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, or multiple fractures, it might take months to reach maximum medical improvement. You can’t value a case properly until your doctors know what your future looks like. That means your legal team may wait until your treatment stabilizes before calculating full damages.

For example, fall injuries among construction workers can lead to surgeries, long recovery periods, and permanent work restrictions. These claims require more time and documentation than minor soft-tissue injuries.

2. How Clear the Fault Is

Was it a rear-end car accident? A clear slip on a broken stair? Or a multi-vehicle collision at a Nassau County intersection? Cases with obvious negligence usually move faster. If there’s a dispute over who caused the injury, your Long Island personal injury attorney will need time to prove liability. It could involve expert opinions, surveillance footage, accident reconstruction, or depositions.

Slip and fall cases against New York property owners often turn on subtle details. Was there a wet floor sign? Had the hazard been there long enough that the property owner should have addressed it?

3. Insurance Company Tactics

Even when fault is clear, insurance companies often delay. They ask for repeated documentation, question medical necessity, or try to argue that your injuries were pre-existing. They know accident victims may be under financial pressure and hope you’ll accept a low settlement offer just to move on.

This tactic shows up frequently in cases with high medical expenses or extended treatment plans. If you’re filing an insurance claim after a motorcycle accident, a construction site injury, or a nursing home negligence case, you’re more likely to face delays or resistance.

4. Court Backlogs

Courts in Nassau and Suffolk Counties are still managing heavy caseloads. If your case requires a trial, you may wait several months just for a court date. The legal process doesn’t always move quickly, even when your legal team is doing everything right.

When Cases Settle Before Trial

However, most personal injury lawsuits settle before reaching trial. Many don’t even make it past the negotiation phase. If the facts are clear, your injuries have stabilized, and the insurance coverage is sufficient, your case might settle within 6 to 12 months.

That said, fast doesn’t always mean fair. Insurance companies often push early offers when they know they’re facing significant liability. Accepting that offer may be tempting, particularly if you’re dealing with mounting bills. Remember, an early settlement might not cover the full cost of medical treatment, lost income, or future care.

Settle when the offer reflects the full value of what you’ve lost, not just the amount the insurance company is willing to pay.

What Insurance Companies Don’t Want You to Know

Insurance companies aren’t motivated to pay you fairly or quickly. Their goal is to minimize payouts and protect their bottom line. That’s why personal injury victims who don’t have strong legal representation often walk away with far less than they need.

Here’s what many injured people don’t realize:

• Insurance adjusters are trained to sound helpful while protecting the insurer’s interests.
• They often delay approval of medical treatment or challenge the necessity of ongoing care.
• They may use your own statements against you to dispute liability or reduce your compensation.

Whether you’re dealing with a motor vehicle accident or a slip and fall, understanding this dynamic helps explain why many personal injury cases take time. It’s also a reminder that legal representation matters.

Filing Deadlines in New York

New York law limits how long you have to take legal action after an injury. For most personal injury cases, the statute of limitations is three years from the date of the accident, according to CPLR § 214.

If you’re pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit, the time limit is usually two years from the date of death. When a personal representative is filing on behalf of someone who passed away, these same deadlines apply.

Claims against public entities or government-owned property often have much shorter deadlines. In many cases, you must file a formal notice of claim within 90 days before you can even bring a lawsuit.

If you wait too long, the court may dismiss your case, regardless of how strong your evidence is. Talking to Melville personal injury attorneys early on helps you avoid missing key deadlines.

So, How Long Will Your Case Take?

There’s no exact timeline, but here’s a general idea based on injury type and case complexity:

• Minor injuries, quick recovery, clear fault: 6 to 9 months
• Moderate injuries, multiple treatments, liability accepted: 9 to 18 months
• Severe or permanent injuries, disputed liability, multiple parties: 18 months to several years

Claims involving fall accidents, nursing home negligence, or wrongful death often take longer due to investigation, expert involvement, and higher damages.

Keep in mind, cases that start out simple can become more complicated if the insurance company delays or disputes the nature of your injuries.

You Can Support a Faster Resolution

While some parts of the timeline are out of your hands, there are steps you can take that make a real difference:

• Get medical treatment right away and follow through on all care
• Save all bills and receipts related to medical expenses and lost wages
• Keep a daily record of symptoms, limitations, and the impact on your life
• Let your attorney know about any updates, surgeries, or complications
• Avoid posting anything on social media that could be taken out of context

Small missteps, such as missing an appointment or sharing details online, can slow your case down or hurt your credibility when it counts.

Talk to a Long Island Personal Injury Firm That Knows How to Keep a Case Moving Forward

You didn’t ask to be hurt. And you shouldn’t be stuck in legal limbo while the insurance company drags its feet. Whether your case involves serious injuries from a car crash, a fall on unsafe property, or a complex wrongful death lawsuit, the legal team you choose matters.

At The Harrison Law Group, personal injury law is all we do. For more than 30 years, we’ve helped injured clients in Nassau and Suffolk Counties stand up to insurance companies and pursue the compensation they’re legally allowed to seek. We don’t treat your case like a number. We take the time to understand what happened, what you’re going through, and how to build the strongest possible claim.

If you’re dealing with medical bills, lost income, lasting pain, or the need for future treatment, we’re ready to take action.

Call (631) 465-9797 or fill out our confidential online form to schedule your FREE consultation. We’ll listen, answer your questions, and move your case forward with the focused attention your case requires from day one.

Copyright © 2025. The Harrison Law Group, P.C. All rights reserved.

The information in this blog post (“post”) is provided for general informational purposes only and may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction. No information in this post should be construed as legal advice from the individual author or the law firm, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this post should act or refrain from acting based on any information included in or accessible through this post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer licensed in the recipient’s state, country, or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.

The Harrison Law Group, P.C.
534 Broad Hollow Road, Suite 100,
Melville, New York 11747
(631) 465-9797
https://www.hlgny.com/