You’re riding your motorcycle home from work when another driver makes a serious error. They turn left in front of your motorcycle and you strike the side of the car. You end up suffering severe injuries.
After the accident, you begin to look into your options to get financial compensation for medical bills and other related costs. You are offered a settlement that should cover these costs. You’re considering taking it because there’s a clear upside: An instant influx of money that you need to pay the bills. But are there any downsides or risks you should consider?
It must provide full compensation
The risk of taking a settlement offer is that it puts an end to the case. If you accept the settlement, then you can’t seek further compensation later.
As such, you must be sure that the settlement is going to provide full coverage for all of the costs that you’re facing. If it just pays for your outstanding medical bills and wages that you’ve already lost, that can be very helpful, but is it enough? You may also need compensation for lost earning capacity moving forward or future medical bills, such as rehabilitation costs.
In this sense, a settlement isn’t necessarily the wrong move. But it can put you in an unfortunate position if you accept the settlement and then find out that you have other related costs from the accident – which you can now no longer seek compensation for from the other driver.
Your legal options
This helps to demonstrate why you need to understand all of your legal options and consider things carefully when making decisions. It can help to work with an experienced legal team that has been through this process before.