The first priority of any car accident victim should be attending to the physical trauma and harm that they suffered in their crash. As readers of this Portland-based personal injury blog know, the types and severity of injuries that victims of vehicle collisions can experience will vary greatly. While some victims may walk away from their accidents with minor bumps and bruises, others may have to fight for their lives to survive.
Because of this, car accident victims may not be prepared to assess the true extent of their damages immediately after their crashes. They may be approached by the parties responsible for their crashes or by insurance companies to settle their claims. For readers who are not familiar with this concept, a settlement is an out-of-court agreement between parties that generally compensates a victim for their losses and exchange forces that victim to agree to waive any future rights to sue the party that has paid their settlement.
For victims who can easily quantify their car accident losses and who do not have ongoing needs related to their collisions, settlement may offer a fast and litigation-free way to get compensated for what they lost. However, victims that may need months or years of treatment may not be able to secure settlements that adequately compensate them for their current and future accident-related losses.
Readers of this blog are reminded that this post offers no legal advice and only information about how settlements may come into play after car accidents. Before accepting a settlement offer, an accident victim should be aware of their rights and options. They may wish to consult with a personal injury attorney to discuss their possible courses of action to seek compensation and make their lives whole after suffering losses in an automobile crash.
