Filing a lawsuit after settling an auto insurance claim

Generally speaking, once a claim is settled, it’s settled, and there’s no filing a lawsuit at that point. During the settlement process, your insurer will likely have you sign a settlement agreement that precludes you from suing them on that occurrence after the settlement has been signed and releases them from making any further payments on that claim. This bar on filing a lawsuit would not apply to future claims that are completely separate from the settled claim.

Bring legal action against your insurer after settlement might be possible under certain circumstances, but those are most likely limited to errors or different interpretations of the settlement language or process itself. The settlement document may be so poorly written that it doesn’t limit your legal options – but that’s highly unlikely. Even though language contained in the settlement may limit your legal options to arbitration, you should nonetheless have an attorney review the settlement document and discuss what options are available to you. You can find an attorney, many who may provide free consultations, at AttorneyPages.com or ask a question about settlements on our Free Advice Law Forum to see how others have handled similar situations.