21 months in, new lawyer took over my case, still waiting — is this normal??

I went through almost exactly this after a truck hit me a few years back. My case also got passed to a new attorney mid-way through, and that transition added months of confusion. The honest answer is that settlement can happen before OR after depositions depending on how stubborn the other side is. In my case, the other side made a low offer first, we went through depositions anyway, and THEN a real offer came. The deposition actually helped because it locked in testimony. Hang in there — it's a grind but two years isn't unheard of for commercial vehicle cases.

So in most personal injury cases there's kind of a loose sequence: treatment ends → records and bills collected → demand letter sent → negotiation → and somewhere in there depositions may or may not happen depending on whether it's heading toward litigation. The thing is, if your attorney is talking about depositions, that usually means the case is already in the lawsuit/litigation phase, not just the pre-suit negotiation phase. Those are two pretty different timelines. It might be worth asking your attorney directly: are we in pre-suit or have we filed a complaint? That one question will tell you a lot about where you actually stand.

Just a heads up — the other side's insurance company has zero incentive to rush this. They're sitting on money that's earning interest while you're stressed out waiting. Delays can sometimes be a strategy to wear people down into accepting less. I'm not saying that's definitely what's happening here, but don't let "it takes time" be an excuse for genuine stalling.

Not legal advice, but I can say that the timeline you're describing — while frustrating — isn't automatically a red flag for a commercial truck case. These tend to be more complex because you've got a company, their insurer, possibly a separate cargo insurer, and defense attorneys who do this all day every day. The attorney transition is the part I'd want to know more about. You have every right to request a written case status update and a rough timeline of next steps. If your attorney can't give you that, that's worth noting.

Stop emailing. Call the office and ask to speak directly with your attorney. Email is too easy to put off. Ask three specific things: (1) has a demand letter been sent, (2) have depositions been scheduled with an actual date, and (3) what is the realistic timeline from here. Write down the answers. If he can't answer those three things clearly, that's your signal to start asking about switching counsel again.

From the insurance side, I'll tell you that commercial truck claims move differently than regular auto claims. There are more parties involved and the reserves on these cases are often higher, which means more layers of approval internally before any offer goes out. That said, 21 months is a long time with no offer on the table at all. If a demand letter hasn't even been sent yet, that's the piece I'd be pushing on. The demand letter is what kicks off the real negotiation.

Quick question — do you actually know if your lawyer filed a lawsuit, or is this still in the pre-lawsuit negotiation stage? Because that changes everything about the timeline and what "waiting for depositions" even means. Those are two very different situations and it kind of sounds like you might not have been clearly told which one you're in.