What Is a Car Accident Release of Liability?

Drivers, passengers, pedestrians, bicycle riders, and families of loved ones who die in car accidents all have the right to file a legal claim against those responsible for their injuries. In car accident cases, the responsible party is generally the driver of the vehicle who causes the accident. Other defendants may include the owner of the car (if different from the driver), an employer, a tavern that sold alcohol to a visibly intoxicated driver, a car manufacturer, and others.

What are the different types of car accident claims?

Filing a car accident claim generally refers to the following:

• Notifying the driver’s insurance carrier and the insurance carriers for the responsible parties that you are holding them accountable for all of your financial and personal damages.
• Filing a formal complaint in the appropriate county court against each defendant, holding them responsible for all of your financial and personal damages. Our lawyers generally file claims in Shelby County for Memphis car accident victims, Madison County for Jackson car accident victims, and Little Rock for Little Rock, Arkansas car accident victims.

Car accident claims include personal injury claims (the victim files their own claim) and wrongful death claims (the family of a loved one killed in a car accident files the claim).

What damages can victims receive due to a car accident?

Our Memphis car accident lawyers work with your doctors, employers, car mechanics, life planners, and others to determine the full scope of all your damages. Some damages, such as the cost to repair or replace your car, are fairly easy to calculate. Other damage calculations depend on how well your injuries heal. While broken bones generally heal if the fracture is a simple fracture, many injuries (such as traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, loss of limb, and burn injuries) last for the victim’s lifetime.

Injuries that are permanent, chronic, or catastrophic require making an analysis before you settle your claim about what treatments you may need, what complications may arise, how much pain and suffering you can reasonably expect, whether you can work again, and other factors.

At Greer Injury Lawyers, PLLC, we work to properly place a value on your long-term damages as well as your damages to date. Our demand for damages includes the following:

• Your medical bills. These include emergency care, hospitalizations, surgeries, doctor visits, rehabilitative therapy, psychological counseling, medications, assistive care, and other medical expenses.
• Your lost income. This amount includes wages, salary, business income, benefits, and long-term disability compensation.
• Your pain and suffering. This amount every moment you cry, experience discomfort, itch, anxiety, depression, and all other physical and emotional trauma.
• Property damage. This category of damages includes the cost to fix or replace your vehicle, depending on the amount of damage.
• Other damages. These include the inability to enjoy life’s pleasures, loss of bodily function, loss of consortium (enjoyment of marital relations), and any scarring or disfigurement.

Wrongful death damages include the funeral and burial costs, the loss of financial support your loved one would have provided, and the loss of personal support (love, guidance, comfort, and education) your loved one would have provided.

The bottom line in assessing damages is that it’s important to understand all the damages victims may experience for their entire lives before entering into a settlement agreement.

How do car accident release of liability forms work?

If your case settles, there are two essential parts to the settlement:

• What the victims and their lawyers receive. The insurance company for the defendant (and the defendant themselves in some cases) agrees to pay the victims/families a specific amount of money. In many cases, our lawyers are successful in obtaining the full insurance policy limits. The insurance companies normally send a check for the full amount. The lawyer then pays the victim/family their share after the lawyer receives their compensation and any outstanding fees.
• What the defendants and the insurance companies receive. The driver, the driver’s insurance company, and any other defendants/insurance companies want to be sure that the settlement is a final settlement – that the victim/family cannot seek any more money. They receive a “release of liability” form signed by the victim and/or the personal representative of a loved one’s estate.

Release of liability forms also may include:

• A description of the accident
• A summary of your claim
• A statement that the driver (or other defendants) are not admitting fault by settling your claim

Normally, the insurance company will send the settlement check, but condition the deposit of the check on their receiving the release.

Release of liability form considerations

The key issue to know is that once you sign the release, you can’t ask for more money if your medical bills are more than you anticipated or if your pain and suffering is more severe than you thought it would be. Likewise, if you anticipate returning to work and find that you cannot return to work, you can’t ask for more compensation if you signed the release.

If the insurance company pays the full policy limits, you couldn’t get them to pay any more if you didn’t sign the release. If the insurance company doesn’t pay the full policy limits, then signing the release of liability form prevents you from obtaining more money from the insurance company. In some cases, the defendants may have assets that can pay your claim other than their insurance coverage. We can review this possibility with you, if necessary, before you sign a release.

At Greer Injury Lawyers,  PLLC, we balance your desire to receive compensation now with the need to be reasonably sure that you’re not jeopardizing your right to more compensation after the settlement. That’s why, except in clear-cut liability cases and offers of payments of the “full” policy limits, we wait to discuss settlement until we review your medical status with your physicians.

The release of liability requirement is one of the key reasons why clients should never settle a car accident case without seeking legal advice. Once you settle, you cannot ask for more. In most cases, clients who settle on their own recover much less than their car accident lawyer could obtain.

Generally, a release of liability form is not used when there is a jury verdict unless there is a settlement after the verdict. Normally, the insurance companies must pay the full amount of the verdict up to their coverage limits.

If you’ve been injured or a loved one died in a car accident, our Memphis car accident lawyers are ready to help you. We’ve helped many Tennessee and Arkansas car accident victims obtain the maximum amount of compensation they deserve – often through a settlement and a release of liability form. Call today or fill out our contact form to schedule a free consultation. We handle car accident cases on a contingency fee basis.