I'm treating a man who was in a car accident. His neck hurts. His back hurts. He gets dizzy and has memory problems. His car insurance company wants to give him a lump sum of money to 'settle' his claim. This means that he would pay all the doctors for his care out of the money he gets and he would promise not to seek any more compensation for the injuries he sustained in the auto accident. Do you think that's a good idea? The rules state that the auto insurance company is supposed to pay your claims until you reach 'pre-accident' status or 'maximum improvement'. This patient isn't close to that yet. I earnestly urged him to not settle and wait until he is feeling better and doing better neurologically. Don't settle your claim too early! I've met many people who settled their claim early, only to have to return to doctors for accident related symptoms and have to pay the bill out of their own pocket.