The Long Wait
What happens after a case is filed - and how to navigate the months and years of litigation with clarity, resilience, and the right support beside you
Nobody tells you about the waiting.
When people think about a lawsuit, they tend to imagine a beginning and an end — the injury, and then justice. What falls between those two points is rarely discussed, and rarely understood until you are living it. The reality of serious injury litigation is that it is a long journey, measured not in weeks but in years, conducted largely out of sight, with rhythms of activity and quiet that do not follow any predictable schedule.
Understanding what that journey actually looks like — what happens at each stage, what it asks of you, and what to watch for along the way — is one of the most important things we can offer a client before it begins. Forewarned is forearmed. And no one should face the long wait alone.
The Road Ahead: What Each Stage Involves
Litigation in a serious injury case follows a sequence that is predictable in its broad shape, even when unpredictable in its timing. Understanding each stage before it arrives makes it possible to engage with the process rather than be overwhelmed by it.
Filing and service of process
The filing of a lawsuit is the formal beginning of the legal process — a public declaration of your claims and the parties you hold responsible. Once filed, the defendants must be formally served, triggering their obligation to respond. For clients, this stage often carries a mixture of relief and anxiety: something has finally, formally, started. It is worth knowing that the filing is a beginning, not a climax. The work that follows it is where the case is actually built.
Written discovery and document production
Discovery is the phase in which both sides exchange information. Written interrogatories, requests for documents, and requests for admissions form the formal mechanism through which the facts of a case are developed in the record. This phase can be extensive — involving the production of thousands of pages of records, detailed written responses to formal questions, and significant back-and-forth over what must be disclosed and what may be protected. For clients, it is often the phase during which the depth of their attorney's preparation becomes most visible.
Depositions
A deposition is sworn testimony given outside of court, in the presence of counsel for all parties and a court reporter. You will be deposed. Key witnesses will be deposed. Experts on both sides will be deposed. These sessions can last hours or days and require careful preparation. They are among the most psychologically demanding aspects of litigation, but they are also among the most valuable — for both sides. A well-prepared client who gives clear, honest, measured testimony in deposition significantly strengthens their case.
Defense medical examinations
In serious injury cases, defendants are typically entitled to have you examined by a physician of their choosing — referred to as an independent medical examination, though the word "independent" should be understood with appropriate skepticism. These examinations are conducted by doctors retained to assess your injuries from the defense perspective. Your attorney will prepare you for what to expect, and their findings will be challenged where appropriate. It is a normal part of the process, but understanding its purpose in advance reduces its power to unsettle.
Settlement negotiations and mediation
Settlement discussions can arise at almost any point in litigation, though they tend to become most serious once discovery is substantially complete and both sides have a clearer picture of the case. Mediation — a structured process in which a neutral third party facilitates negotiation — is commonly used in serious injury cases and often results in resolution. The decision of whether to settle, and for how much, is ultimately yours. Your attorney's job is to give you the information and analysis you need to make that decision with full understanding of its implications.
Trial preparation and trial
If a case proceeds to trial — and the majority do not, though the preparation for trial is what makes settlements meaningful — it enters its most intensive phase. Trial preparation is exhaustive: witness preparation, exhibit organization, opening and closing argument development, jury research, and the orchestration of expert testimony all require sustained, high-level focus. The trial itself is typically measured in days or weeks. It is, for most clients, an experience unlike any other — one that requires presence, resilience, and complete trust in your legal team.
Post-trial motions and appeals
In some cases, the conclusion of trial is not the conclusion of the matter. Post-trial motions — challenges to the verdict or the damages awarded — can extend the proceedings. Appeals, though relatively uncommon in resolved matters, represent a further stage that can add significant time to the process. Understanding that the possibility exists, and that it does not necessarily signal failure, is part of navigating the litigation journey with equanimity.
The Human Reality of a Long Case
The procedural stages of litigation are manageable when they are understood. What is harder to prepare for — and what deserves more honest discussion than it typically receives — is the human cost of a long legal process.
Litigation in a catastrophic injury case is not a background event. It runs through the center of a person's life for years. It intersects with ongoing medical treatment, with financial pressure, with the daily reality of living with the consequences of a serious injury, and with the emotional labor of recounting, justifying, and documenting that injury at every stage of the process. It affects families. It tests relationships. It can, without adequate support, become a source of secondary harm.
This is not a reason not to pursue justice. It is a reason to pursue it with the right people beside you.
Our Commitment: You Are Never Just a Case Number
At X-Law Group, personalized attention is not a phrase we use in marketing materials and then forget when the retainer is signed. It is a structural commitment that shapes how we practice.
We are a small firm by design. Four attorneys. Nine specialists. A deliberate, principled choice to carry fewer cases so that each one receives the depth of attention it deserves. That means every client works directly with the attorneys handling their matter — not a rotating cast of associates, not a paralegal team with limited authority, but the people who are actually building and fighting their case. It means calls are returned. Updates are given before they are asked for. Difficult news is delivered with honesty and care, not buried in legal language or avoided until the last possible moment.
We also believe that preparing a client for each stage of litigation is not optional — it is part of our job. Before every deposition, before every significant hearing, before every difficult conversation about strategy or settlement, we invest the time to make sure our clients understand what is coming, what it means, and what to expect. An informed client is a stronger client. And a client who trusts that their attorney is genuinely present — not just professionally engaged — is a client who can endure the long wait.
We have been told, more than once, by clients who have been through the full arc of a multi-year case, that what they valued most was not only the result — though the result mattered enormously — but the experience of feeling accompanied rather than processed. That is the standard we hold ourselves to.
Things to Watch For During Litigation
The litigation process contains certain dynamics that clients are better equipped to navigate when they know about them in advance.
• You may be under surveillance. Defense investigators in serious injury cases sometimes observe and document claimants in public settings. This is legal and not uncommon. It is not a reason to live differently — it is a reason to live consistently with what you have told your doctors and your attorney about your condition and its limitations. Authenticity is its own protection.
• Social media is scrutinized. Opposing counsel routinely monitors the social media activity of plaintiffs and their families. A photograph posted in a moment of genuine happiness — a birthday celebration, a family gathering, a good day — can be taken out of context and used to challenge the credibility of an injury claim. This does not mean you cannot have good days or share them. It means that throughout the litigation, a degree of thoughtfulness about what is shared publicly, and how it might appear without context, is worth maintaining.
• Financial pressure is a litigation tactic. Defense strategy in serious injury cases routinely includes delay — not because delay serves justice, but because it serves the defendant's financial interests. A plaintiff under financial strain, exhausted by a lengthy process, is more likely to accept a settlement that does not reflect the full value of their claim. Recognizing this dynamic for what it is — a tactic, not a reflection of the strength of your case — is essential to resisting it.
• Psychological well-being matters and deserves attention. Depression and anxiety are common in the aftermath of catastrophic injury, and the demands of litigation can exacerbate them. If you are struggling — and it is entirely normal to struggle — please say so. To your attorney, to your medical team, to the people around you. Managing your well-being is not separate from managing your case. It is part of it. An attorney who genuinely cares about their client will not treat this as a distraction from the legal work.
• Your behavior throughout the case is part of the case. How you present in depositions, what you post online, how consistently your daily life reflects what you have reported about your injury — all of it is relevant. This is not a reason to perform or to restrict yourself beyond what is genuine. It is a reason to live with integrity, and to understand that consistency between what you say and what you do is one of the most powerful things you can bring to your case.
The Settlement Decision: What It Really Means
The decision to settle or to try a case is among the most consequential a client will make. It deserves honest, thorough discussion — not a recommendation made under pressure or in haste.
A settlement offers certainty. A known outcome, a defined sum, finality. It spares the client the uncertainty and emotional demands of trial. For many people, particularly those who have endured years of litigation and are ready to close a chapter, settlement is not a compromise — it is a rational and appropriate choice.
A trial offers the possibility of a verdict that fully reflects the scope of what was lost — including elements of damages that insurers are often resistant to paying in settlement. It also carries risk. Juries are unpredictable. Trial is expensive and emotionally demanding. And it extends the timeline further.
Neither path is inherently right. The right choice depends on the specific facts of the case, the client's circumstances and priorities, and a realistic assessment of both the value and the risk of each option. What matters is that the decision is made from a position of full information, genuine counsel, and the confidence that your attorney is giving you their honest view — not the answer that makes their job easier.
You Will Not Walk This Road Alone
The long wait is real. It asks things of people that are genuinely difficult — patience, resilience, the capacity to hold uncertainty for years while still living a life. We do not minimize that.
What we can offer — beyond the technical expertise, the strategic depth, and the advocacy that this kind of work demands — is the consistent, personal presence of people who know your case, know your story, and are genuinely invested in your outcome. Not as a file on a desk. Not as a claim number in a system. But as a person who deserves to be seen, heard, and fought for — for as long as that fight takes.
At X-Law Group, that is what we show up to do. Every case. Every client. Every day.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for, and should not be relied upon as, legal advice in any particular situation or circumstance. Reading this content does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and X-Law Group P.C. Every situation is unique, and the law varies by jurisdiction. If you have specific questions about your legal rights following an injury, you should consult with a qualified attorney.