A car accident can drastically change the course of a Missouri resident’s life. A victim of a collision may be unable to work due to their injuries and may also be in significant pain from the harm they endured. They may be tempted to do whatever they can to speed the process of getting financial compensation for their losses so that they can quickly get back to their pre-accident life. Doing so many involve accepting a settlement offer from the individual who caused the victim’s losses.
A settlement is a legal agreement wherein one party, generally the responsible party, offers the other, generally the injured party, compensation in return for a release from any accident-related liability. For example, consider a speeding driver who rear-ended the car of their victim. The speeding driver may offer the victim $100,000 in exchange for the victim waiving their future right to sue the speeding driver for any accident-related claims.
Settling a personal injury claim can provide a victim with compensation faster than they may receive a judgment through litigation, but not all personal injury and auto accident claims are well-served by settlements. In the example of the rear-end collision provided above, if the victim’s pain and medical injuries due to the accident did not resolve and the victim was forced to continue with ongoing medical care for years, their actual accident-related losses may far exceed the $100,000 settlement amount, leaving them with extensive out of pocket costs that they could not collect from the speeding driver.
Litigation, settlements, and personal injury claims are all complex subjects that auto accident victims often must work through when they are hurt, suffering, and worried about their futures. Victims do not have to face these and other legal challenges on their own. Personal injury attorneys can help victims make knowledgeable decisions about how best to protect their legal rights.