How COVID-19 Has Affected Personal Injury Cases
Since COVID-19 began, one question we have heard often is simple and understandable:
“How has COVID affected my personal injury case?”
The short answer is that COVID did not change your rights, but it did slow down many parts of the process. From medical treatment to insurance negotiations and court proceedings, nearly every stage has been impacted in some way.
Here is what that has looked like in real life.
Medical Treatment Has Been More Difficult
The biggest impact has been on medical care.
Many doctors’ offices reduced hours, closed temporarily, or limited the number of patients they could see each day. Even offices that stayed open often required masks, distancing, screenings, and longer wait times. For many injured people, that alone made treatment more stressful.
Some clients were understandably hesitant to sit in waiting rooms or attend in-person appointments, especially early in the pandemic.
Delays for MRIs and Surgery
COVID also affected more serious care.
Imaging centers had to change cleaning procedures, which meant they could no longer schedule patients back-to-back. An MRI center that once handled 15 or 16 patients a day might only see five or six. That created backlogs and longer waits.
Non-emergency surgeries were also delayed. If a client needed something like rotator cuff surgery or another orthopedic procedure, it was often postponed because hospitals were prioritizing COVID patients and emergencies. That pushed treatment timelines back through no fault of the injured person.
Temporary Office Closures
We also saw situations where a medical office had to shut down entirely for weeks at a time due to a COVID outbreak among staff. When that happened, clients experienced gaps in care that they could not control.
Those gaps are explainable, and insurance companies and courts understand why they happened, but they still made recovery more frustrating for injured people who were already dealing with pain.
Slower Records and Billing
Getting medical records and bills has taken longer as well.
Many facilities shifted staff to remote work, which sometimes limited access to records systems. Tasks that once took one or two steps began taking four or five. Even mail delivery slowed due to staffing shortages and increased volume.
All of this added time to case preparation.
Insurance Negotiations Took Longer
Insurance companies were affected too.
Many adjusters began working from home, and during the early transition, communication slowed. Calls went unanswered, responses took longer, and negotiations that once moved quickly stalled. While this has improved over time, it still takes longer than it did before COVID.
Court Cases and Jury Trials Were Delayed
Litigation was one of the hardest-hit areas.
Jury trials were paused or postponed in many courts. Depositions, hearings, and conferences moved online through Zoom and similar platforms. While the legal system adapted, cases still slowed because courts simply could not operate at full capacity.
There have been some benefits. Remote depositions reduce travel and can be easier for clients, especially those in rural areas or out of state. But overall, the pace has been slower.
What This Means for Your Case
The most important thing to know is this:
COVID delays do not weaken your case.
Judges, juries, and insurance companies understand what happened. Delays in treatment, records, and procedures caused by COVID are explainable and reasonable. Our job is to document those issues clearly and make sure they are not used against you.
Even with these challenges, we continue pushing cases forward and advocating for fair results as efficiently as possible.
We Are Still Here to Help
If your case has taken longer than expected, there is a good chance COVID played a role. That does not mean it is stuck or forgotten. It means the system had to adjust, and we adjusted with it.
If you have questions about where your case stands or how COVID may be affecting it, we are always available to talk.
If you are in pain, call Shane.
📞 Shane Smith Law | 980-999-9999
