Personal
Injury Settlements
Personal injury settlements will vary from case to case. Personal
injury settlements will also vary from state to state as well.
Worker's compensation claims resulting in a personal injury settlement
can be handled by a general personal injury lawyer or an attorney
who specializes in worker's compensation cases. Receiving a personal
injury settlement most often means not going to trial.
Personal injury settlements may be derived from claims regarding
libel, slander, malicious prosecution, or false arrest. Also included
are any bodily injury, sickness, disease, or death sustained by
any person and caused by an occurrence for which a particular
state or anyone else may be held liable. Personal injury settlements
may include compensation for loss of social and family activities
as well.
Common settlements in personal injury cases may come from injuries
involving:
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1.
Medical malpractice
2. Defective products
3. Automobile accidents
4. Bus accidents
5. Published slander
6. Animal bites
7. Wrongful death
8. Traumatic brain damage
9. Slip and falls
10. Workplace accidents
11. Catastrophic events
12. Aviation accidents
13. Trucking accidents
14. Motorcycle accidents
15. Residential accidents
16. Boat accidents
17. Nursing home abuse
18. Birth injuries
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Personal injury settlements are geared towards recovering lost
funds, securing appropriate treatment, and limiting further suffering
associated with the injury. Most insurance companies will offer
a personal injury settlement almost immediately, as it is often
far less expensive to settle out of court. In many cases, the
personal injury settlement is offered immediately following the
injury (even while the injured party is still in the hospital)
in the hopes that an attorney has not yet been consulted. Pain
and suffering, loss of social and family activities and recovery
of future earnings and medical bills are all calculated into the
settlement.
One type of personal injury settlement is the structured settlement.
A structured settlement is not possible for a worker's compensation
case, a case where the person has died or once the court has awarded
damages. A structured settlement is an agreement between both
parties in a case that the injured person will receive all or
part of their compensation in the case in the form of tax-exempt
periodic payments (annuities) underwritten by a highly-rated life
insurance company. These payments are in lieu of a lump sum cash
settlement. Most often, the structured settlement will contain
two components, which are the initial cash payment (since most
injured parties will need some cash right away) and then a periodic
payment schedule to follow. The advantage of a structured settlement
is that they can provide more income over the long-haul than a
lump sum payment and take the worry about how to manage large
sums of cash for most people.
There are many other types of options for personal injury settlements,
though, so consulting an attorney is the best course of action.
A personal injury settlement is as unique to each individual as
the case itself. The most important item to know about personal
injury settlements is that the injured party has many options
and researching those options empowers one to make thoughtful
decisions in this matter.
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