Can My Personal Injury Claim be Reopened After it is Settled?

This question underscores the importance of reading what you sign in any contractual relationship.

Let’s say you were injured by someone or a corporation through no fault of your own. Maybe the manufacturer had a poorly designed medical device or the driver of a big-rig fell asleep behind the wheel because he violated the hours-of-service rules and was driving drowsy or distracted.  

In the above cases, your personal injury attorney will gather evidence to prove that the negligence of others caused your injury, whether that is presented to a jury or at the settlement table.  

If you are the defendant (the at-fault party), you want this issue behind you and most defendants will not pay any settlement until they can be assured the lawsuit is over. So, part of any settlement is likely to be an agreement that the plaintiff will release the defendant from any future liability.

If there are any problems at the settlement stage, the judge may keep the case alive until both parties agree to language that gives them what they want – the settlement dollars in exchange for an agreement. It is especially important to understand what you are signing releasing the defendant from any further liability.

To answer the question, generally your personal injury claim cannot be reopened after it is settled.

Third Party Responsibility

Now you might wonder if there are any exceptions to the above and the answer is, yes, there are. In some cases, such as the trucking case, there may be others involved in the accident that led to your injury.

For example, the trucker may not have owned the vehicle he was driving. Instead, it was part of a fleet, owned by a transportation company.  The driver may not have scheduled the trip, loaded the truck, or set his own delivery deadline.  

In this case, there may be multiple third parties who were responsible for the accident. A truck that is put on an extremely tight delivery deadline means the scheduler knew, or should have known, that the driver could not cover that ground in the allotted time.

He knew, or should have known, that the driver would have to violate the sleep requirement to deliver the load on time. In that case, the company that scheduled the driver could be considered liable.

Other liability may fall on the company that loaded the truck in a haphazard manner, failing to balance the load. If that problem led to a crash, they too could be held responsible.  

Maybe the truck had not been properly maintained and that contributed to the crash and injury. The owner of the truck has the responsibility to keep it maintained and could be considered liable for your crash.

The company that hired this driver has a responsibility to check into his background. Did he have any other driving violations? Had he been called out for distracted or tired driving?  Does he have any medical conditions that had gone unchecked? 

In the case of a defective medical device, you may be able to file a medical malpractice claim against the doctor who used the device.  Did he know it was defective?  In some cases, we have found that the doctor was also the inventor of a device and would stand to benefit financially by its use, yet he did not inform the patient. That is a federal violation of something called the Stark law, where there is a financial incentive and the patient is not told.

All of these are avenues for additional personal injury claims to be filed against the at-fault party. Your personal injury attorney has the responsibility to uncover all of the evidence that will reveal whether there are others responsible for your injury. 

Attorney Chip Nix has more than 40 years of experience in evidence gathering, trials and negotiating personal injury claims.  You may be eligible to receive financial compensation for your pain and suffering, your medical bills and loss of employment. It all starts with a conversation with Chip Nix, at your convenience, by calling 334-203-6669. Let’s explore your avenues to compensation.