If you have been in a truck accident in Florida, you may be thinking about trying to get a settlement from the truck company that was involved. This is money that will be paid out to you if you choose not to go to court. While people often talk about the upsides of a settlement — such as getting the money quickly and avoiding a long trial — it is also necessary to look at the downsides.
For one thing, you will most likely be asked to forfeit your legal right to a court case. If you decide later that you should have gone to court, you can no longer do so because you took the settlement money. This could be problematic if you later want to make another claim — perhaps because of injuries that you did not realize you suffered.
Another downside is that you may only get a fraction of what you could have sought through a trial. That is often why corporations want to use settlements. They will offer far less than what they stand to lose with a judge’s ruling, hoping that people take it because it is guaranteed money. You could be selling yourself short.
Furthermore, the trucking company will probably not have to admit that it was at fault in the wreck. Even if the company admits this to you, it does not have to do so publicly. Therefore, the company is not going to be held liable and responsible for its actions in the same way that it would be in court.
Before your case begins, make sure that you know all of the ramifications of accepting or rejecting a settlement.
Source: FindLaw, “Trucking Accident Settlements: What to Expect” Dec. 01, 2014