Phase	What Happens	Typical Timing Driver	Main Insurance Company Move
Accident and Immediate Aftermath	Crash occurs, report may be made, emergency facts are created, initial evidence begins to disappear almost immediately.	Scene documentation, witness preservation, medical response.	Lock in “no injury,” low-impact, or unclear-fault positions early.
Medical Treatment Phase	The injured person treats and the real medical picture develops.	Severity of injury, specialist referrals, recovery progress.	Argue delay, gap in treatment, or “minor injury.”
Investigation and Documentation	Records, wage proof, photographs, witness information, and liability evidence are assembled.	Availability of documents, witness cooperation, clarity of fault proof.	Exploit missing proof and inconsistencies.
Demand and Evaluation	A demand package is submitted after treatment ends or stabilizes enough to value the claim intelligently.	Medical clarity, completeness of damages package, insurer review time.	Delay response, deny causation, or make a lowball offer.
Negotiation	The parties test whether the claim can be resolved without suit.	Offer quality, damages proof, liability posture.	“Final offer” tactics and soft denials.
Litigation	Suit is filed, discovery proceeds, and the case moves toward trial or later settlement.	Court scheduling, discovery disputes, expert development, venue.	Increase pressure by prolonging the process and contesting proof.

Factor	Why It Matters	What It Usually Delays
Length of medical treatment	A claim usually cannot be valued intelligently until the injury has resolved or stabilized.	Demand timing and settlement evaluation.
Liability dispute	If fault is contested, the insurer has less incentive to pay fairly before suit.	Negotiation and overall resolution.
Contributory negligence exposure	In Maryland, even partial claimant fault can become the defense theme that shapes the whole case.	Settlement posture, valuation, and litigation strategy.
Quality of documentation	Missing records, unclear wage proof, or weak scene evidence slow everything down.	Demand preparation and insurer evaluation.
Need for litigation	Once a lawsuit is necessary, the court system controls much of the pace.	Final resolution and trial date.
Venue and court calendar	Different courts move at different speeds.	Trial scheduling and pretrial deadlines.

Current Phase	What the Status Really Is	What the Client Should Understand
Early treatment	The medical picture is still developing.	The claim is not yet ready for serious valuation.
Late treatment / stabilization	The lawyer is assembling proof and preparing the demand.	This is often where the value case is actually built.
Demand submitted	The insurer is evaluating, delaying, denying, or testing leverage.	Silence does not mean the case is dead; it often means the carrier is buying time.
Negotiation	The parties are testing whether fair resolution is possible without suit.	A low offer is not progress just because it is an offer.
Litigation	The case is now moving on court deadlines, discovery, and trial preparation.	The timeline is more formal, but usually longer.

Court	Typical Role	Process Style	What Usually Changes
District Court	Smaller claims with a more streamlined format	Faster, simpler, judge-tried	Less discovery and a shorter path to trial
Circuit Court	Larger or more serious cases	More formal, more discovery, more motion practice	Longer timeline, heavier preparation, often jury-tried

TL;DR — Maryland Personal Injury Process

What If the Police Report Says There Were No Injuries at the Scene?