Florida Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
“Should I Sign a Florida Personal Injury Settlement Release Form?”
It’s completely understandable – smart, actually – to be wary of signing any sort of a Florida personal injury settlement release form following a car accident. As our Cape Coral personal injury lawyers can explain, signing that release is typically required if you want to be paid the settlement amount. And settlements are how 95 percent of Florida injury lawsuits are resolved. But you absolutely should never rush into signing anything without having it first reviewed by a lawyer. This is especially true if the injuries you and/or your loved ones suffered were serious.
Understand that insurance companies are strategic in pressing people to sign Florida personal injury settlement release forms while they’re still recovering. They take advantage of the urgency and vulnerability many accident victims feel in the wake of an accident. They’re in pain, unable to work, the hospital bills are piling up, and they’re leaning on loved ones to help them manage basic household tasks/childcare/caregiving duties. In other words: They’re dealing with a lot, and could really use the money. Insurers often take that opportunity to dangle a “take-it-or-leave-it” carrot. They extend a settlement offer that can be much lower than what one is actually entitled to – hoping they’ll sign it quickly and give up the right to ask for anything more. We’ve seen far too many situations where accident victims find out too late that they unwittingly signed away their right to more money – sometimes a lot more.
Among the risks you’re running if you haven’t carefully considered all the implications of your signature on that document:
