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Claimants are expected to sign a release form, before receiving any promised compensation. An insurance company usually promises a payout, following settlement, at the conclusion of negotiations.
Significance of signed release
The claimant that has put his or her signature on the designated document has agreed to give up his or her right to sue the insurance company.
Considerations suggested for client that has been asked to sign
Obtaining permission to carry out that requested act. That permission should come from the claimant’s own insurance company. That consideration must take into account the duty placed on the insurance company of the responsible driver. That same agency must make the required subrogation payments.
Checking on the stated settlement amount; does it agree with the promised amount?
If the stated amount were to differ from the one expected, then it would be obvious that the 2 parties had failed to reach an agreement, before ending the negotiations. Personal Injury Lawyer in North Bay knows that checking on details of the promised payment, along with the stated terms of the release.
The terms might indicate that the signed form should be sent to the adjuster within a set number of days. Those same terms should include mention of the date when the promised funds ought to get mailed to the claimant’s lawyer.
Getting confirmation from a treating physician that each and every injured party has arrived at the point of maximum medical improvement. That consideration should work to prevent the re-emergence of any old symptoms, or the emergence of new ones, after the claimant has signed the release form.
Having a lawyer review the release, before it has received the necessary signature. An attorney could make sure that the signed document would not place any unexpected obligations on the claimant, the attorney’s client. Checking to see whether or not someone else might have been held responsible for the same accident.
Making sure that the signature that the claimant plans to put on the release form matches with the name used by the same claimant when he or she opened a bank account. The insurance company could be sending the check directly to the claimant, unless he or she has retained a lawyer, throughout the negotiation process.
Even if the insurance agency did plan to send a check to the claimant’s attorney, completion of the above-mentioned check should keep that same attorney from using a nickname on any check that must go to that particular attorney’s client. Clients have a right to ask that any hired lawyer change the name on the check with the compensation funds. No lawyer would refuse to honor that request. Still, that would delay further the time that the client must wait for the anticipated compensation.