If you settle too quickly, you may regret it.
We often receive calls from clients or other individuals who handle their own claims who are very eager to settle their personal injury accident claim for a quick cash settlement. There are times when our advice is to encourage them to endure… the timing has to be right.
Wait until your injuries are well known
The extent of many injuries is often not known for months or even years. For example, we had a 40 year old client, “Sophie”, who had recovered from her initial neck and back injury but still had some pain in her knee. The knee pain resisted diagnosis. She was told it was a sprain and strain. The insurance company doctor suggested that she had a rare birth defect that caused her pain and that she had nothing to do with her accident. At first glance, it seemed like it was time to settle down because most of the injuries related to the accident had healed.
Fortunately, a doctor finally took the time to perform more extensive diagnostic tests on Sophie’s knee, which revealed a damaged meniscus that required surgery. We settle this claim for 3 times what would have been possible if we had settled before we had the diagnosis in hand.
Are you back at full speed at work?
If you have not returned to work after your injury, or are working less than before the accident, you definitely should not settle your claim unless you are certain that you have achieved maximum medical recovery. (We call this MMR.) In Ontario, where damages for pain and suffering are capped, the loss of earnings claim is often the largest component of a settlement. If you don’t know your final medical prognosis, how will you calculate your lost earnings? When will you go back to work? When will you be back full time? All those questions will remain unresolved. As you can probably guess, the insurance company is unlikely to make assumptions that will increase your settlement amount.
Ease the financial burden by maximizing your legal accident benefits
Our personal injury clients are sometimes impatient because the case is moving slowly, especially if they are experiencing financial difficulties in the meantime. Of course we can understand this sentiment, but we also know that a little more time, even an extra year, can make a really significant difference in the size of a settlement.
One important role an attorney can play for you while you wait until the time is right to settle your claim is to monitor your Accident Benefits claim. After a car accident in Ontario, in most situations there is a right to statutory accident benefits. If you qualify, these benefits cover your medical and rehabilitation expenses, visit expenses, attendant care, and cleaning expenses, to name a few of the benefits available.
In addition, Accident Benefits provide weekly amounts as income replacement, caregiver expenses, or benefits for people with no income. These benefits are not a fortune. However, for many families, these amounts ease the financial burden of an accident, allowing them to “hold out” until the compensation claim is resolved.
In most circumstances, having an attorney monitor your accident benefits while you work on your at-fault driver’s compensation claim will help ensure that you get the most out of these benefits while the other case is being worked on. If you are handling your case on your own, you will want to pay close attention to your Accident Benefits.
This is an example of the importance of watching your right to Accident Benefits. In the spring of 2008, our law firm was contacted by the daughters of an 82-year-old retired bricklayer, Claudio, who had been injured in a car accident 10 months earlier. Claudio did not speak English. Although he notified his insurer of the accident and they handled his property damage claim, the insurance company never sent him information about his Accident Benefits. It took the daughters mentioning his father’s struggles at home since the accident to alert the family doctor that accident benefits were there for him.
His family submitted the forms but still had a feeling that his father was not receiving all the benefits he needed.
When our firm audited Claudio’s Accident Benefits file, we discovered that he had been cheated out of $49,000 in back payments and interest. A letter from my signature and all arrears were paid and Claudio’s weekly and monthly payments began.
In other words, there is often little to gain and much to lose when you rush to settle your injury claim. This is true whether you hire a personal injury lawyer or handle the case on your own. Take the time you need to build your case and understand your injuries.