Contingency refers to an event that may or may not occur in the future. In other words, it depends on fulfillment of a condition, which is uncertain or incidental.
A settlement can take anywhere from a few weeks to over five years to close. Straightforward personal injury cases, like a car accident lawsuit from a rear-end collision, are more likely to resolve quickly. A medical malpractice case is more likely to take several years.
The result of a settlement agreement involves the responsible party paying a certain amount to compensate for the damages caused to the victim.