This can put money in your pocket without fully closing the door on everyone else who may owe you. It can also save a defendant from getting dragged deeper into a lawsuit while still requiring payment. A covenant not to sue is a contract where an injured person agrees not to file a lawsuit against a specific person or company, usually in exchange for settlement money, but does not necessarily release other potentially responsible parties from liability.

That distinction matters. A release often wipes out the claim entirely against the released party and can sometimes create fights over whether the whole case is over. A covenant not to sue is narrower: the claim may still exist in theory, but the injured person promises not to pursue it against that party. In a crash case, that can be the difference between taking one insurer's check now and still pursuing another driver, an employer, or a product maker later.

The trap is in the wording. If the document is sloppy, you may accidentally give up more than you meant to, including indemnity rights, contribution claims, or claims against related parties. In Idaho, settlement language can affect how fault gets allocated under Idaho's comparative fault rule, Idaho Code § 6-801 (2024). If the injury happened on the job, a settlement touching a workers' compensation issue may also run through the Idaho Industrial Commission in Boise. One bad sentence can cost real money.