Can You Reopen a Personal Injury Case?

You may have had a personal injury case in the past that did not turn out in your favor and you want it looked at again. However, you cannot reopen a personal injury case that has been settled. If you and the defendant came to an agreement on a settlement amount, then it was most likely required of you to sign a form that releases the defendant and their insurance company from any future claims arising from that same accident or injury.

Even if such a document was never signed by you, most likely there was some sort of verbal settlement agreement that acted in the same way as the release. One of the two had to have been done for insurance companies, who are pretty upfront with getting settlements squared away without anything coming back at them. So no matter the details of your case, there is a good chance you won’t be able to reopen your personal injury claim after it has been settled. However, contacting a professional injury attorney to review your specific case may be able to find exceptions and give legal advice.

Another factor to look into is whether or not there were multiple parties responsible for a personal injury accident. Take a car accident for instance: multiple vehicles involved, defect with your car, or an unsafe road condition. If any of these situations play into your case, then every responsible party involved should be held accountable for their contribution to your injuries, financial hardship, and emotional turmoil.

Even if your claim against one party has been settled, you may still be able to bring a claim against another party that is just as involved. Of course, this all depends on the release you signed or verbally confirmed when you settled with the one party. Sometimes, these releases are worded in a way that prohibits you from pursuing any additional claims related to that accident/injury, but leave that to a professional injury attorney to seek out the details and tell you for sure whether or not you have options.