Collecting Settlement or Judgement Monies

The point of filing a personal injury claim is so that one receives compensation for their losses. As a result, it is easy to assume that once a settlement has been agreed upon the money automatically reflects one’s bank. Or an award given in court the money also automatically reflects one’s bank. This article will discuss collecting settlement or judgement award monies.

Settlement Agreements

There is a huge difference on the expectation when collecting a settlement is finalized and when a judgement award is given. Once a case is settled, the attorney simply waits for the insurance company settlement check to come in the mail. Once this is received a few deductions later the plaintiff receives their money. However, it is totally different when you went to trial. There are number of factors that may come into play and processes that may be added before you see a check.

Setting Your Personal Injury Case – The Release

Once you and the defendant have reached a settlement agreement before trial the lawyers will report this to the court. The court then issues an order of settlement. This order requires all parties to complete the settlement paperwork within 30 or 60 days. However, this time frame depends on the jurisdiction. The most important piece of documentation in the settlement paperwork is the release.

The release is the document by the defence attorney setting out the settlement terms. Once prepared it is sent to your attorney for approval. Depending on what is in the document, it can either be straightforward or certain language may be objected. It is the job of your attorney to read carefully all the terms and ensure they are acceptable. Where the terms are not acceptable the lawyers will argue over these until an agreement is reached. If there is no agreement reached then the judge will step in. However, this can slow things down a lot.