Legal Question in Personal Injury in Wisconsin

You need to ask your attorney this question; I would not know whether or not he gave them a deadline to answer or be sued. However, even if an attorney does give the insurer a deadline, a third party insurer generally has a lawful right to choose the consequences. Those are generally to be sued if they ignore his demand letter; there is little else which your attorney can legally do to them. Forcing a lawsuit eventually lets a judge or jury decide how much they owe you (if anything), and the insurer will always choose this option if they believe the number likely to be awarded is less than your settlement demand (amount plus a limited consideration of anticipated court costs). Unlike your own insurance company, third party insurers (for example, those who represent an adverse driver) have no contractual or legal duty to you whatsoever until you obtain a court judgment against them. This is because you have no contract with them, unlike the adverse driver who has paid them for their troubles in the form of his insurance premiums. Formal litigation is usually, at minimum, a one to two year process which will cost you thousands of dollars if it ends up becoming necessary. Even if you win, court costs, expert witness fees and other expenses are usually paid "off the top," which means that they reduce your share of the proceeds. All negotiations outside of the formal lawsuit process are strictly voluntary by both sides and there is no legal obligation to negotiate at all before suit. Therefore, as a practical matter, your lawyer may wish to await the insurer's answer, even if it takes awhile, due to the expenses and delays of a lawsuit (as opposed to recklessly starting suit before he needs to). In WI, suit would normally need to be started only as you were approaching third anniversary of the accident (the statute of limitations "bar date.") If suit is not properly started before that, you would generally lose your case. Before that, filing suit is strictly optional and is largely a strategic decision by your lawyer. My comments in this public web forum are not legal advise and do not create any attorney/client relationship between us. Answers on this website are intended for public educational purposes only.