Can you Reopen a Personal Injury Case?

One of the worst feelings in the world is replaying scenarios over and over in your head. This can happen with everyday interactions, or, with more serious things like after suffering a traumatic injury due to a car accident and wondering what you could have done in the situation to prevent it from happening.

One of the worst places that you can get this feeling is after settling after a lawsuit that you may have been thinking about for months or suffering from injuries because of, to realize that your injuries are getting worse, or even worse, that you did not receive the maximum amount of compensation that you could have in your case with your injuries.

Can you reopen a personal injury case?

Unfortunately, in most cases, once a personal injury case is settled and finished, you will not be able to reopen your case. you may have heard of a rule in criminal law called “double jeopardy” which essentially means that defendants are not able to have a trial for the same issue once the issue has been decided or there has been a verdict.

A similar rule applies here. Once a case has been settled or litigated, generally, there is going to be very little chance that you are able to reopen your case unless you have had some serious issues during the settlement process or the litigation process. However, with the help of an experienced attorney during and after the process of litigation of your personal injury claim, you can make sure to have all of the information that you need in order to make an informed decision about what paperwork you are signing and what you ultimately agree to.

 Are there any exceptions?

Sometimes, there may be options available to you. In some cases, if there has been a clerical error with the filing of the paperwork, you may be able to fix that error, although that is more of a modification than a re-opening of the case.

In other instances, you may have a case where you have multiple defendants, all of whom you may be able to get some form of compensation from. If these defendants were not part of the original suit, then you may have options against those defendants. In any case, an attorney who has experience in these situations will be able to help you even if you think that you may have no options available to you.

Other options

The best thing to have when going through any personal injury case is the experience, support, and knowledge of an experienced personal injury attorney. The best personal injury attorney will make sure that you are adequately and zealously represented even in the smallest of matters and will take over all of the negotiations that you may need to make on your behalf

When trying to negotiate with other people or with insurance companies, the best thing to do is to have an attorney who can guide you in the right direction. Most of the time, insurance companies are very well versed on the laws and their goals are to get you to settle as quickly as they can. However, we know that car accident and other injuries can be very serious and can present very serious injuries which have lifelong problems.

These issues are not something that should be taken lightly and the worst situation to be stuck in is to realize that you should have been awarded more damages than you were actually given. Most of the time, forms that insurance companies want you to sign are in their benefit and not for yours, even though they may state otherwise.

Knowledge is the best weapon

As is with any case with most issues in life, one of the best things to have in your corner is someone who has the knowledge and the skills needed in order to help you and make sure that you are making the best decisions for you and your case and for your loved ones.

In scenarios like these where you are settling a claim or trying to make sure that you are receiving the most compensation that you potentially could for an issue like a personal injury case, the best thing to have in your corner is an experienced attorney who is able to accurately inform you of all your rights and all of the effects of your actions.

While it may not be impossible to reopen a personal injury case under very specific circumstances, sometimes the best situation to be in is one where you are fully informed about the legal effects of all of the agreements you make and all of the paperwork which you are signing. This could prevent you from being in the situation of having to wonder whether or not you will receive compensation for your injuries, and this can be especially important in cases where injuries can be unpredictable, such as traumatic brain injuries which could require special treatment for extended periods of time or even life.

If you or someone you know is thinking about reopening a personal injury case, there may be options you have that still could be explored. In any instance whether there may have been a clerical error or whether something went wrong with your case and settlement, the best course of action is to always have an experienced attorney look over your case and outline all of your options.

Even if reopening your case may not be an option, the experienced attorneys at the Heidari law group can help you explore other areas of the law where you could receive compensation under your previous personal injury claim. With offices in Fresno, California, Sacramento, California, Los Angeles, California, Irvine, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada, the Heidari Law Group has qualified attorneys who are experts in recovering the maximum compensation that their clients deserve.

Regardless of whether you are trying to reopen your personal injury claim in California or Nevada, the Heidari Law Group is able to assist you at every step of your recovery process and ensure that you are equipped with all the tools that you need in order to receive fair and maximum compensation. Reach out to our offices and call for a free consultation today!

***Disclaimer: This blog is created by Heidari Law Group for educational purposes. This article provides a general understanding of the law. It does not provide specific advice. By using this site and reading through this blog, there is no attorney-client relationship created between you and any member of Heidari Law. Further, due to the constant change of the law, some parts of the information above may no longer be good law.