Can i reopen a car accident claim?

When a case is settled, it is settled unfortunately.

Sorry, I don't see hope here for reopening. The fact that your case settled for only $900 indicates to me that there wasn't much impact to the car and that the lawyer felt it would be hard to prove that a minor accident caused serious damage or that despite the relatively strong impact there wasn't medical information at the time that suggested that you had something more serious. In the latter situation, the lawyer did not have to settle the case right away since you were under 18, there was additional time that the lawyer could have waited but maybe you didn't seem that bad at the time so the lawyer and your father did not anticipate that your injuries were serious and wanted to get the case finished. I looked up scoliosis because I have never heard of it being caused by an auto accident and I have always thought it was congential. Here is what I read: "There are many causes of scoliosis, including congenital spine deformities, genetic conditions, neuromuscular problems and limb length inequality. Other causes for scoliosis include cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy and tumors. Over 80% of scoliosis cases, however, are idiopathic, which means that there is no known cause" So if they don't know what causes it 80% of the time - it might be really hard to connect it to an auto accident, particularly one that didn't appear to have much force involved. Maybe if this accident was more serious, it did trigger it. Hard to say without finding a doctor that is an expert that could explain the connection to us. The reason I am pointing this out is that even if you had suspected this connection when you were 15, you might have still settled the case if it looked like you couldn't prove that the accident cause this condition.

P.S. Make sure that you search for a personal injury lawyer in your city to protect your rights.

In general, a personal injury claim arising from a car accident will only be re-opened with the wrongdoer's insurer if it was not completely resolved and the statute of limitations has not yet expired. Although I am not an Oregon attorney, I believe the the applicable statute of limitations is two years. If that is the case, your claim would be barred at this point. Even if the statute of limitations did not prevent you from re-asserting your claim, the fact that you received payment to settle the claim most likely prevents re-opening. Typically in cases like yours, giving the wrongdoer and their insurer a general release of liability is a condition of settlement. That type of release will almost always prevent re-asserting a claim for injuries arising from the accident even if you were unaware at the time of settlement that other potentially compensible injuries would later develop. The short answer is that you are almost certainly barred from re-opening a claim now even if it is related to the accident. Having said that, it is still a good idea to consult a personal injury attorney in your area. Good luck. I hope you get the medical help you need and recover soon. Steve Hancock Hancock Law, P.A. Lake Elmo, Minnesota