Non-disclosure agreements are the agreements signed by the plaintiff where they sign a contract stating that they will not disclose any information about the case, including the settlement details.
Make sure to contact a personal injury attorney Boston to get the best legal advice.
Why should you have an NDA in personal injury settlements?
- Different people have different perspectives on getting an NDA in personal injury settlements. For starters, the injured plaintiff will want to keep the medical treatment they take away from the public records. Once an NDA is signed, the public cannot access the details of their medical treatment.
- The defender who is at fault and has committed the crime will happily agree to have an NDA since it saves them from a legal battle and protects their reputation. A settlement will be significant if the defendant’s party is clearly guilty, and here an NDA becomes a necessity more than anything.
- An insurance company of the defendant settles most personal injury cases. The insurance company has various ongoing cases simultaneously, and without an NDA, the trial details become public knowledge. It is commonly believed that everyone knowing about the details wouldn’t benefit the insurance company as the number of cases will increase along with the amount for settlement asked. This problem becomes even more significant when the case is publicized, as is generally the case in such high-profile cases. Such cases have plaintiffs who get a multi-million dollar amount paid as a settlement, leading to many other cases popping up.
What should an NDA look like?
- A professionally made NDA will mention that the terms of the settlement have to be strictly followed by both the parties, and only the plaintiff will be allowed to disclose the details to the people who are legally bound to know, like his attorney, accountant, spouse, and some other people.
- An NDA will also mention that a breach in the contract will mean that the party who breaks the terms will have to give a particular amount of money called “liquidated damages” to the other party. In some cases, the plaintiff would have to pay the entire settlement amount back to the defendant. Basically, a hefty penalty is paid by the party who breaches the contract.
- Sometimes in a high-profile case, there will be a script given to either of the parties to recite when asked some inevitable questions on how the case was solved. This is done to avoid arguments about whether the party has disclosed the details of the case and whether it is a violation of the clauses of the settlement or not. A script makes sure that both parties are safe.
