Can you reopen a settled car accident case?

Once you accept a settlement for your damages in a car accident claim, or once your trial concludes (if your case isn’t settled out of court), it’s almost impossible to reopen it. Virtually the only grounds for reopening a closed car accident case are if there was a judicial error at trial, if the law was improperly applied, if the jury was not given proper directions, or if there was fraud.

There may be a few other situations in which personal injury lawsuits can be appealed or reopened, but these are rare. However, if there was an error or fraud in your case, talk to a Boca Raton car accident lawyer with experience in addressing instances of fraud and legal errors in the Fourth District Court of Appeals.

When is a car accident settlement final?

Car accident cases are civil legal matters and are resolved either through a negotiated settlement or at trial.

Over 90% of car accident cases are resolved in settlement negotiations. Once you agree to the defendant’s settlement offer, you sign a release saying that they do not owe you further obligations. The case is closed, and the terms of the settlement are legally binding.

If the case goes to trial, the jury’s decision is generally final. There are grounds for an appeal, but they are usually reserved for instances of legal errors.

What are the grounds for reopening a settled car accident case?

You cannot reopen a claim because you disagree with the results or realize that you need more money for your damages, but you can appeal a decision or revisit a settlement if:

• There was fraud or misrepresentation. This is the most common reason for reopening personal injury claims. The other driver may have lied, hidden key facts, or the insurance company may have engaged in deceptive, bad-faith insurance practices to get you to sign the settlement.
• You both made a mutual mistake. There was a significant shared error, such as a typo in the settlement agreement.
• You were coerced into signing the settlement. Many personal injury plaintiffs are in serious financial straits and vulnerable to coercion or a belief that if they don’t settle, things will get worse.
• Technical errors at trial. The judge may have excluded evidence that should have been admitted, given improper instructions to the jury, misapplied the law, or committed another fundamental legal error that affected the result.

Can you reopen a case if you discover new injuries?

Discovering that you were hurt worse than you initially thought when you signed the settlement isn’t enough to reopen the settlement. This is why so many personal injury lawyers wait until their client has reached maximum medical improvement, or the point at which further curative care would not result in noticeable change.

What if other parties were also at fault?

This is one of those situations of a mutual mistake, and one that may need legal mediation to resolve. If there was an error in the settlement contract, for example, it may turn into an entirely different legal matter. This may take court intervention to resolve.

Protect your rights before you settle with Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath

It’s very difficult to reopen a closed injury claim once you’ve signed a settlement or gone to trial. It’s much easier to have the experienced car accident lawyers at Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey, & Fronrath review your case, properly value it, and negotiate a settlement with the insurance company that reflects the true value of your damages. Contact us today at (561) 655-1990 for a free consultation.