Austin seems to have an accident problem. The Bat City recorded 12,433 traffic accidents in 2021. Some roads, like Airport Blvd., Riverside Dr., and South Congress Ave., see a higher number of accidents than other parts of the city.
The victims of these accidents face numerous hardships. From financial difficulties to serious physical injuries, the consequences of a car accident are numerous. A car accident claim helps victims recover from these hardships and get back on the road to normalcy.
Austin car accident lawyers play a crucial role in this. They stand beside the victims from the initial stages of determining liability until settlement negotiation.
A car accident claim ends when the victim agrees to a compensation offer made by the insurance company.
But this is not the case for some claims.
In rare cases, a car accident claim may be reopened. This article talks about five valid circumstances where a car accident claim can be reopened.
You did not sign the release of liability form
A release of liability form denotes the end of a car accident claim. Once the release of liability form is signed, the at-fault party will no longer be liable for your damages or losses.
Before the official signing of the document, the insurance company will have a discussion with you about the agreement. Your approval in this discussion will be considered a verbal agreement.
In some instances, this verbal agreement may be considered final. If your claim was closed after the verbal agreement without signing a release of liability form, you can reopen it.
You weren’t paid the agreed amount
The defendant is expected to pay the settlement within a specific period of time. In Texas, the at-fault party must pay the agreed-upon amount within five business days.
A failure to pay the agreed compensation within this time period is a basis for reopening a claim.
You were the victim of a bad-faith insurance claim
Insurance companies work for profit. When they feel that their profit margins are going to be affected, they employ a whole array of different tactics. Some of them include:
- You were harassed or bullied into accepting the settlement
- Your car accident claim wasn’t investigated properly
- You were lied to
These are some examples of a bad-faith insurance claim.
If your car accident claim was closed due to any of the reasons above, you have grounds for reopening it.
The agreement form had technical errors
Like other aspects of a car accident claim, the settlement agreement also has lots of paperwork. It’s pretty easy for someone in the insurance company to make an error in it. The error could be anything from the list given below:
- Incorrect compensation amount
- Misspelled names
- Incorrect contact information
- The description of your injuries is incorrect
If the agreement has technical errors, you can reopen a car accident claim.
You found a medical condition that was unaccounted for
There are chances that you may miss considering certain damages. This is normally non-economic damages like
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of enjoyment of life
In rare situations, you may reopen a car accident if you are diagnosed with a medical or psychological condition after accepting a claim. This new condition must be related to the car accident for the request to reopen the claim to be validated.
Conclusion
Though a lovely and exciting city to live in, Austin does have its issues with car accidents. The victim will have to go through a range of hardships after the accident.
A car accident claim gives victims some much-needed relief. The compensation awarded from the claim helps them recover from their injuries.