Most parties usually agree to settle a personal injury claim outside of court to save time and avoid expenses and the uncertainty of going to trial. An experienced personal injury attorney will often help injured victims seek fair compensation for their damages and other losses.
However, if the victim pursues a personal injury claim without legal assistance, they might receive a lesser offer from the at-fault party or insurance company. In such situations, can a case be reopened after settlement? Usually, you cannot reopen a case after a settlement agreement unless certain exceptions apply to your case.
Experienced personal injury lawyers can help you reopen a personal injury lawsuit if the circumstances of your case allow it. At Wyatt Injury Law, we prioritize clients who wish to reopen a lawsuit and fight for maximum compensation. We have successfully reopened cases for clients, sometimes after discovering that the at-fault party concealed crucial information during initial negotiations.
In other instances, a client’s medical condition worsened after the settlement. We reopened the case to pursue additional compensation. Contact our law firm for a free consultation to learn more if you are in a similar predicament. Here is what you should know about reopening a case after settlement and seeking further compensation.
Understanding a Personal Injury Settlement
Can a lawsuit be reopened after settlement? Personal injury victims must understand that a settlement is the easiest way to resolve a dispute. In personal injury claims, parties can settle their differences through negotiations or legal action.
Victims can recover compensation in both ways, but seeking fair compensation without a personal injury lawyer by your side during negotiations is tricky. The settlement terms are difficult to enact since victims might not know the full extent of their injuries. When the at-fault party pays the victim, they expect the case to be dismissed and the victim to sign a release of liability.
This liability contract prevents you from taking legal action even if you did not achieve a fair settlement. In regular circumstances, an experienced personal injury lawyer will advise you not to pursue a settlement amount until you reach maximum medical improvement.
However, pursuing further damages is difficult if the victim signs the liability release agreement. The release clause absolves defendants and their insurance companies from further liability. You can pursue more compensation only if exceptions to the liability release clause exist.
Circumstances that May Warrant Reopening a Case Despite Settlement Agreement
Although most personal injury blog posts will tell you that you cannot reopen a lawsuit, this isn’t necessarily true. An experienced attorney can help you analyze the release of liability contract and the awarded compensation to determine if you can secure more money for your medical bills, lost wages, future damages, property damage, and other losses. Contact a Glendale personal injury lawyer now to discuss your case.
It is your legal right to contest the initial offer and have an attorney by your side during settlement negotiations or lawsuits. When your lawyer analyzes what the contract states and how the signing occurred, they can help you determine if there are exceptions to the release of liability contract. In most cases, the accident victim can reopen a lawsuit despite the settlement agreement under the following circumstances.
New Evidence
Evidence plays a crucial role in settlement agreements in a personal injury case. The strength of the evidence often influences the settlement offer. Reopening settled cases can occur when significant new evidence comes to light that wasn’t available before. Sometimes, this might mean holding other parties liable, which can aid the victim in their financial recovery. This can occur in a car accident, for example. Contact a Phoenix car accident lawyer to learn more.
Fraud or Misrepresentation
Reopening a case after a settlement can happen if the settlement was made through unethical means, including fraud or misrepresentation. In these circumstances, you can seek compensation beyond the initial settlement offer for your medical expenses and other losses.
Mutual Mistakes
The victim, the other party, and the insurance company can make mistakes during the settlement agreement. In such cases, the court will diligently analyze the settlement offer, which may allow the case to be reopened.
Change in Circumstances
Even after settling a personal injury claim, significant changes in the parties’ circumstances can reopen the case. New medical bills, additional therapy, car repairs, or medical treatment can play a role in reopening cases. Still, everything depends on the circumstances of your case and the strength of your legal representation.
Addressing the Legal Grounds and Requirements For Reopening a Settled Case
The Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 60(c), is often invoked in reopening settled cases. However, you must adhere to the legal deadline and demonstrate a valid legal basis for reopening the case.
Can a lawsuit be reopened if you miss this deadline? Most likely not, so you should consult a personal injury attorney to understand the applicable deadlines and legal options. The court will evaluate the merits of your claim and determine if your accident case can be reopened. Contact a Scottsdale personal injury lawyer for a free consultation to learn more.
The Challenges and Process Involving in Reopening a Case
You cannot reopen a personal injury case without strong legal arguments and new evidence. The challenges involved in these legal aspects are that the court may scrutinize the grounds of your request as will the other party and their insurance company since they will have to pay more for your injuries and other losses.
Insurance companies focus on saving money rather than paying fair settlements. The best way to reopen a case after a settlement agreement is to consult with a personal injury lawyer.
A lawyer specializing in case reopenings can thoroughly analyze the circumstances of your case—including the settlement agreement and the stipulated exceptions—and will gather evidence to demonstrate fraud, mistakes, or other circumstances necessary to reopen the case. Your injuries, medical treatment, and other expenses might be reevaluated and inspected.
The case reopening process isn’t easy, but with a dedicated personal injury lawyer by your side, you might pursue a fair settlement even in these circumstances. Contact the law office of Wyatt Injury Law to learn more.
Pursuing a Personal Injury Claim The Right Way
To pursue fair compensation for their accident injuries and other losses, victims should pursue a personal injury claim the right way from the beginning to avoid the challenges and hassle of reopening a case. Here are some crucial aspects to understand related to personal injury claims in Arizona:
Gathering Evidence
In a personal injury claim, gathering evidence can begin from the moment of the accident. To ensure you can correlate your injuries to the accident, victims should seek immediate medical attention. Medical treatment will help you prioritize your health and establish a link between your injuries and the accident.
Without medical records, the other party can argue that your injuries are attributed to an unrelated event, weakening your claim or lawsuit. Until you reach maximum medical improvement, you cannot know what your injuries are worth since you will be subjected to various treatments. The medical bills and associated treatments for the emotional trauma will pile up depending on the severity of your injuries. Therefore, you can argue for compensation.
Photographic or surveillance footage and witness statements can strengthen your claim, and the police report will also play a role in establishing liability.
Insurance Company And Negotiations
An insurance company will use their adjusters to investigate the accident. Since Arizona follows a pure comparative negligence system, accident victims can recover compensation even if they are 99% at fault.
Although this might sound good for those involved in accidents, it makes the battle to prove negligence fiercer. After all, an insurance company is interested in making money, not giving it away.
During settlement negotiations, they might tempt the victim to sign the documents early to settle the case regardless of the fairness attributed to the compensation. However, a personal injury lawyer can help victims pursue a fair settlement from the beginning and even handle communication and negotiation with insurance companies. If negotiations cannot be concluded fairly for the client, their lawyer will advise them on whether or not to pursue a lawsuit.
Consulting With a Personal Injury Lawyer
Working with a personal injury attorney can save you the hassle of reopening a case later. A lawyer can thoroughly analyze your case, gather evidence, establish the liable parties, and help you hold them accountable. A lawyer can advocate for your rights and best interests if a lawsuit is inevitable. Most lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, so you won’t have to pay anything unless they win your case.
Working With Wyatt Injury Law
At Wyatt Injury Law, we fiercely protect the rights and interests of our claims in personal injury cases, including reopened ones. Our founding member, attorney Justin Wyatt, is a seasoned trial lawyer and active member of the Arizona State Bar.
Our law firm and attorneys have received numerous honors and accolades throughout our years of practice, such as being included in The National Top 100 Trial Lawyers. Whether you wish to pursue a personal injury lawsuit, require legal assistance during negotiations, or need to reopen a case to pursue a fair settlement, we are here for you.
Contact our law office today for a free consultation without obligations on your case. Our lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. You won’t pay unless we win.
