Many personal injury lawsuits never make it to a courtroom. Instead, they are resolved through private settlements worked out between the parties. When you accept a settlement, it becomes legally binding, and you may not change your mind later and file a lawsuit, barring very special circumstances. If you only agreed to a settlement because you were pressured into it, you should get help from an attorney right away.
If you were pressured into a bad settlement, your attorney may be able to help you get it overturned. This is not easy, and courts only overturn settlement agreements for very specific reasons. If you believe the other party misled you about the settlement or believe you were defrauded, the settlement may be overturned. Similarly, if you were coerced into agreeing, you may challenge the settlement. To begin, we must file a motion with the court explaining why the settlement should be overturned, and we must have some evidence to back up your claims.
Call (718) 841-0083 and ask our NYC personal injury attorneys at The Carrion Law Firm for a free, confidential case analysis.
What to Do if You Were Pressured into a Bad Settlement for Personal Injuries
Settlements are common in the field of personal injury, but not every settlement is reasonable or fair. Once you accept a settlement, it is difficult to go back and have it overturned unless very special conditions exist.
If you believe you were pressured into a settlement, you should contact an attorney immediately. Review the terms of the settlement with our personal injury lawyers and explain how you were pressured into signing it.
Keep in mind that pressure like needing money or being told this is your last chance to settle usually isn’t actionable. The kind of pressure necessary to overturn a settlement is usually things like threats of physical violence or physically forcing you to sign the agreement.
It is a good idea not to touch any of the money you might have been paid. If the settlement is overturned, the money will likely have to be returned to the other party.
Common Reasons for Challenging Settlement Agreements
You cannot normally challenge a settlement agreement simply because you have second thoughts. Below are a few common examples of why a settlement might be challenged and overturned.
Fraud
You may have grounds to challenge a settlement you agreed to if you discover the settlement somehow involves fraud or if you were misled about material facts surrounding the settlement.
For example, you might accept a settlement offer because it is all the defendant claims they can afford to pay. Even if you won a larger damages award in a trial, the defendant could never pay it, so you take a settlement instead. This is separate from stern negotiations, where a party might claim it’s too expensive as a negotiating tactic.
Next, suppose you learn that the defendant lied or misled you about their finances, and they could have afforded to pay more. You might challenge the settlement because the defendant lied to you about material facts to induce you into accepting it.
Coercion
You can also challenge a settlement if you are coerced or pressured into accepting it. For example, you might accept a low settlement from the defendant because they are a powerful businessperson in your community who threatens to blacklist you from working in your field if you sue them in court. Coercion may also include threats of violence or retaliation against you or your family.
Pressure or coercion might instead be more subtle. The defendant might hint that they will make your life very difficult if you do not accept the settlement, so you do so out of fear. However, mere pressure that you will not get the money cannot be sufficient to count as coercion.
Mutual Mistakes
It is also possible that a settlement may be overturned if both parties made a mistake during negotiations. This may be a mutual mistake regarding an important fact or set of facts that was necessary to determine the value of the settlement.
Proving such a mistake occurred may be difficult, especially if a revised settlement would cost the defendant more money, as they may be more keen to challenge you.
How to Overturn an Injury Settlement
In order to challenge the settlement and try to have it canceled or overturned, we need to take the case to court. With the help of an attorney, you can file a motion with the court to overturn or challenge the settlement.
The motion should spell out why the settlement should be overturned, and we must include evidence to back up your claims. The court could reject the motion or schedule a hearing. At the hearing, both sides may present evidence and arguments as to why the settlement should or should not be overturned.
What Happens After an Injury Settlement is Overturned?
If you successfully challenge the settlement and it is overturned, you must immediately talk to your attorney about what to do next. It is a good idea to have a plan already in place for what to do if the settlement is overturned.
Can you file a lawsuit? You may decide to take a chance with a trial, but we must be mindful of the statute of limitations. If it has expired, you might be unable to file a lawsuit, barring special circumstances. However, if you accepted the settlement because the defendant misled you or used fraud, the court might still allow you to file a case.
Can you renegotiate the settlement? If the previous settlement was based on a mutual mistake of both parties, the other party might be willing to renegotiate a different settlement based on what we know now as the truth.
Evidence to Prove You Were Pressured into an Injury Settlement
When we file a motion to challenge a settlement, we must have some evidence to support your claims.
You may need to include communications between you and the defendant. Remember, what is said during settlement negotiations is confidential and usually may not be presented in court as evidence. However, if the case is about proving something like fraud or coercion, these communications might be admissible. You should review them with an attorney and make sure of what is or is not admissible.
We might also need to show new evidence that was not available at the time of the settlement. We must show that this information was unavailable despite our due diligence. Alternatively, we might show it was unavailable because the defendant hid it from us.
How Long After Accepting a Settlement Can You Challenge It?
If you accepted a settlement a long time ago, it is unlikely you can challenge it, although you should ask an attorney first. You should also be aware of the statute of limitations. If the limitation period has ended, you might not have many other legal options.
Talk to your attorney about when you accepted the settlement and when you realized the settlement was the result of pressure or coercion. If there was no way to discover the fraud or coercion until much later, you might still be able to file your case.
Call Our Personal Injury Attorneys for Legal Help Now
Call (718) 841-0083 and ask our Bronx, NY personal injury attorneys at The Carrion Law Firm for a free, confidential case analysis.