Detailed Answer

Short answer: a concussion that worsens or creates a need for long-term treatment can materially change the value of a personal injury claim. If you accept a full settlement or sign a broad release before your condition stabilizes, you usually give up the right to recover additional money later. To protect yourself under Massachusetts law, you must document current and expected future needs, consider settlement timing and structure, and consult an attorney before signing releases.

How settlements normally work

When you settle a personal injury claim, you generally accept money in exchange for a release of liability. Most releases are final: they bar you from later suing the defendant for additional medical costs, lost wages, or pain and suffering that relate to the same injury or accident. Because traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and concussions can evolve over months or years, an early settlement can leave you responsible for future care that was not yet obvious.

Key damage categories to protect

• Past medical expenses and past lost wages (already happened).
• Future medical expenses (ongoing therapy, specialist care, assistive devices, prescription meds).
• Future lost earnings or diminished earning capacity.
• Pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life that may continue or worsen.

How worsening symptoms affect settlement options

Options commonly used in Massachusetts and elsewhere include:

• Waiting to settle until your condition stabilizes: This reduces the risk of underestimating future needs.
• Including funds for estimated future medical care: Use a life-care plan and expert opinions to estimate costs and include those in the settlement demand.
• Structured settlements or annuities: Spread payments over time to ensure ongoing funds for care.
• Partial releases or limited releases: Narrowly draft releases to preserve the right to pursue separate future claims—but insurers often resist and courts treat broad releases as final.
• Reserving rights in writing: Rare and risky; purely reserving future claims while getting payment is often legally ineffective unless carefully drafted and agreed to by the defendant.

Timing and the statute of limitations

Massachusetts sets time limits for filing tort lawsuits. For most personal injury claims, you must file within three years of the injury or from the date you discovered the injury. See M.G.L. c. 260, § 2A for the statute of limitations applicable to many negligence-based personal injury actions: M.G.L. c. 260, § 2A. If you delay settlement to let your condition evolve, keep the statute of limitations in mind and preserve your right to sue if negotiations fail.

Practical consequences of settling too early

• You may be stuck paying for future medical care out of pocket.
• You may lose leverage to get a fair value for lost future earnings and life-care needs.
• Insurers will commonly insist on full releases; courts generally enforce clear releases.
• Trying to re-open a settled claim is difficult; courts will rarely set aside releases absent fraud, mutual mistake, or other narrow grounds.

What to do if symptoms worsen after a settlement

1. Immediately get comprehensive medical records and objective documentation showing the worsening condition.
2. Contact the lawyer who represented you in the settlement (if you used one) and discuss whether any narrow remedies exist under the specific release you signed.
3. Explore whether the settlement contained a carve-out for future medicals or created a medical special needs fund; if not, legal options are limited.

When to involve an attorney

Consult an experienced Massachusetts personal injury attorney before accepting any settlement offer or signing a release. A lawyer can:

• Arrange expert medical and vocational evaluations (e.g., life-care plans).
• Estimate the cost of long-term care and lost earnings.
• Negotiate structured settlements or other protections.
• Ensure releases are narrowly tailored if a partial resolution is appropriate.

Practical example (hypothetical): Jane has a concussion after a slip-and-fall. After three months she still has daily headaches, memory problems, and needs neurocognitive therapy. If Jane accepts a global release for a one-time payment without accounting for long-term care, she likely cannot recover later when therapy costs rise. If she waits for medical experts to estimate future needs and negotiates a settlement that funds future treatment or uses a structured annuity, she protects herself financially.

Other Massachusetts-specific considerations

Insurers and defendants frequently push for speedy, full releases. In Massachusetts, the three-year statute of limitations in many personal injury cases (M.G.L. c. 260, § 2A) means you should track deadlines even if you choose to delay settlement. If you are a minor or lack capacity, special procedures may apply for court approval of settlements—ask an attorney about those safeguards.

Helpful Hints

• Do not sign any settlement or release without medical clearance and a lawyer’s review.
• Get timely, consistent medical care and keep all records, bills, prescriptions, and notes about symptoms.
• Ask a treating physician to describe prognosis and whether long-term care is likely.
• Obtain a life-care plan and vocational assessment to quantify future medical and economic needs.
• Consider a structured settlement to provide ongoing payments for long-term care.
• Preserve all evidence (photos, witness contact info, accident reports) and track missed work and daily-life impacts.
• Be aware of the Massachusetts statute of limitations and preserve your right to sue if necessary: see M.G.L. c. 260, § 2A.
• If you already settled and your condition worsens, contact your settlement lawyer immediately to review your release and any narrow post-settlement options.