3 Reasons Not To Settle Right Away After A Car Accident

After getting injured in a car accident, you might want to start thinking about settling your case once you feel better and things start to settle down. Settling a car accident case is important, but it's also important for you to realize that you do not have to settle right away. In fact, it is often better to wait a while before you settle your case, and here are three reasons you should consider waiting a while before you settle.

You May Not Know The Full Extent Of Your Injuries

One of the main problems with settling too quickly is that you may not know the full extent of your injuries right away, and this is especially true for injuries that are severe. For example, if the accident left you with back or neck problems, you might assume they will heal within the next few months. The problem is that they might not. In fact, you may never find complete relief from these types of injuries. They might affect you for the rest of your life, but you may not realize this right away.

Because of this, most personal injury attorneys will recommend waiting to settle your case until you know how severe the injuries are, and most lawyers use a term called maximum medical improvement (MMI) when they talk to clients about this. MMI is a legal term common in personal injury cases, and it refers to the point in a victim's life when they are as recovered and well from accident injuries as they likely ever will be. In other words, the person will never get any better than he or she currently is. This is MMI, and your lawyer might want to wait to settle until you reach this point in your healing process.  

You Won't Receive Enough Compensation

If you settle right away and end up discovering that your injuries were worse than you thought, you will not receive enough compensation. To get compensated for your injuries from a car accident, your lawyer will have to base the amount on how much you have spent so far on medical bills. The lawyer will also account for other things, too, such as loss of income and loss of future wages.

By waiting as long as you can, your lawyer will have more proof to support the claims that you are making. The other side may try to settle quickly with you to avoid paying you as much money, but you do not have to rush into a settlement, and your lawyer will tell you this too.

You Have Time

Your lawyer will explain what statutes of limitations are, and this plays a huge role in when you must file your lawsuit. Each state has rules and regulations about the time frame that people have for filing cases. For car accidents, you will have one to six years, depending on your state. You do not have to settle your case within this amount of time, but you must file your lawsuit for the case within this amount of time.

If you do not file a lawsuit within the given time frame, you will never be able to seek compensation for your injuries. This is why it's important to talk to a lawyer within a few months after your accident occurred.

Car accidents are never fun, especially when they leave people with major injuries. If you are recovering from an accident and need advice or help settling your case, contact a personal injury lawyer at a law firm such as Hoffman, Hamer & Associates, PLLC in your city today.