How Long Does It Take to Receive Payment After My Mid-Missouri Personal Injury Case is Settled?

About the Author

Ethan Charles (“EC”) Duckworth is the founding attorney of Duckworth Injury Law. EC earned his law degree from the University of Missouri - Columbia, where he graduated in the top 10 of his class and served as an Editor of the Missouri Law Review. EC currently serves as a member of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys (MATA) and is a graduate of the Ross T. Roberts Trial Academy. EC has represented hundreds of injury victims throughout his career, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in compensation recovered. 

The Timeline of a Personal Injury Settlement Payout

We understand that personal injury claims are a long and emotionally taxing process for clients. As such, after successful resolution of your case via settlement or judgment, you’ll want to get paid as quickly as possible and attempt to get back to your normal life. But how long does it usually take to receive payment after your mid-Missouri personal injury case is settled? 

Usually, clients will receive their settlement check within 30 to 45 days after their case is resolved.   

However, there are many factors that can affect this general timeframe on when you will receive your settlement check.

1. Whether Your Settlement Requires Court Approval

While most personal injury cases in Missouri do not require court approval (meaning the parties can agree on a settlement amount without a judge’s approval), there are certain types of personal injury cases that do require court approval. In Missouri, personal injury settlements requiring court approval include minor settlements (i.e., personal injury settlements involving a plaintiff who is under 18 years old), wrongful death settlements, and settlements on behalf of the estate of an individual. 

In situations where court approval of your settlement is required, there will typically be a delay in payment of your settlement proceeds by an additional 30-45 days. During this time, your attorney will draft and file settlement approval documents with the court and attend a hearing to seek court approval of the settlement. Often, the court will only have availability for these settlement approval hearings every few weeks, which will impact the timing of the payment of your settlement. 

2. Timing of Execution of the Settlement Release Agreement

Once a personal injury or wrongful death case settlement is agreed upon between a plaintiff and defendant, the defendant’s insurance company will require the plaintiff to sign a settlement release agreement, which outlines the terms of the settlement and releases the defendant from any further liability arising from the accident. Often, the attorneys for the parties will need a few days to work out the terms of the settlement release agreement once the monetary settlement amount is agreed upon.

After the settlement release agreement is prepared, you (as the plaintiff) will be required to sign the settlement release agreement prior to payment being issued. As such, if there is a delay in the execution of the settlement release agreement, there will often be a corresponding delay in the payment of your settlement proceeds. 

3. The Insurance Company’s Processing & Mailing of Your Settlement Check

Once the settlement release agreement is signed, the insurance company will begin processing your settlement check. While this processing time varies from carrier to carrier, often your settlement check will be processed and mailed within a few days of the receipt of the agreement. The settlement check will be mailed to your attorney’s office and often takes one to two weeks to arrive.

4. Depositing the Settlement Check into an IOLTA Account

Upon receipt of the settlement check from the at-fault party’s insurance company, Missouri’s Rules of Professional Conduct require that your attorney deposit the check into their firm’s interest on lawyers’ trust account (“IOLTA”). An IOLTA account is required by the Missouri Bar to hold client funds separate from the firm’s own operating account. Best practices encourage Missouri lawyers to hold the funds in the account between 7 to 10 business days prior to disbursing the funds. This delay is to ensure the settlement funds clear prior to disbursal to avoid the potential of an overdraft on the IOLTA account.

5. Structured Settlements & Annuities 

For certain personal injury cases, it makes financial sense for clients to structure their settlement rather than receive a lump sum payment. In other words, with a structured settlement annuity, settlement proceeds will be paid by an annuity or life insurance company at a set amount and over a set number of years, rather than a single payment up front. 

A structured settlement can provide personal injury clients with steady income over many years and can occasionally be used to protect a client’s eligibility for need-based programs. Structured settlements are also popular for minor settlements, in which the minor’s funds will be protected and paid out over many years after the minor reaches 18 years old. 

If your case involves a structured settlement, final resolution of the settlement will often take a bit longer as the details and corresponding paperwork of the structured settlement must be worked out. 

6. Whether Medical Liens or Medical Bills Must Be Paid from Your Settlement 

Last but not least, whether or not your case involves the payment of medical liens and/or outstanding medical bills can impact the timing of your settlement payment. Final lien amounts must be confirmed with the provider, reductions of these amounts are then negotiated, and lien payoff letters must be received. Depending on the specific medical provider(s) involved, this is one of the most common causes of a delay in the payment of your settlement proceeds.

Further, if your medical bills have been paid by Medicare, Medicaid, or an ERISA qualifying health insurance plan, your attorney will be required to satisfy their respective “lien” as well. Again, this includes confirmation of the lien balance, negotiation of the lien, and payoff of the lien. 

Duckworth Injury Law Is Central Missouri’s Proven & Efficient Law Firm. We Work Hard to Ensure You Receive Your Settlement Payout Quickly

At Duckworth Injury Law, we understand how frustrating it can be for our clients to wait on their settlement payment. Life doesn’t stop while you are pursuing a personal injury claim and neither do the bills. As such, Duckworth Injury Law strives to move your case as efficiently as possible, obtaining you full and fair compensation for your personal injury claim in a timely manner. 

Whether your mid-Missouri personal injury case involves a car accident, truck accident, motorcycle accident, or boating accident, Duckworth Injury Law will seek maximum compensation as quickly as we can (without compromising your case value). 

Duckworth Injury Law takes pride in being mid-Missouri’s hometown law firm and strives to be the best personal injury firm in Columbia, Jefferson City, the Lake of the Ozarks, or anywhere else across mid-Missouri.

If you’d like to discuss what options are available to you in your personal injury claim, reach out to Duckworth Injury Law today for a free case evaluation and consultation.