Legal Question in Personal Injury in Florida

Can I sue someone twice?

I was in a car accident when I was 16 years old. My father sued, and while in college the case was settled for about 15,000, of which more than half went for attorney fees and medical bills. I am now 26 years old and suffering chronic headaches and neck pain resulting from that accident. It has progressively gotten worse. It interferes with work and has drastically altered my life. Am I able to sue this trucking company a second time based on how I am being affected by that accident? Thanks for your help.


Asked on 2/06/05, 9:23 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Patrick Dervishi PATRICK DERVISHI, P.A.

Re: Can I sue someone twice?

The lawyerly like answer to your question is: it depends. First, you can't sue someone twice. Res Judicata, a doctrine that forbids same action against same parties if there has been a final judgment, works against you. Second, and more on point with your question, your settlement agreement is a binding document, or for lack of a better term, a CONTRACT. To set aside this contract, your best chance is to look at it. See if there is a provision that has excluded future unforeseeable injuries, though I doubt it. Next, the only slim chance you'll have is to set it aside due to mistake. The general rule is that "unkown or unexpected consequences of known injuries will not result in invalidating release." Thus, you have to show that the injury is distict and separate from what you knew and should have known.

Best of Luck!

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Answered on 2/08/05, 3:05 pm


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