Personal Injury Settlement

What Is a Personal Injury Settlement?

A personal injury settlement allows victims hurt from negligence or harmful acts by another person to recover damages against the guilty party. The amount recovered in a personal injury settlement can vary depending on the nature and extent of the injury, the amount of economic damages such as lost wages or medical bills incurred, or the amount of time that the injury is expected to last. In the U.S, it has been estimated that 16% of children hospitalized as a result of an unintentional injury will suffer some form of permanent disability.

Personal injury settlements may be a result of a vehicle accident, medical malpractice, or a workplace accident. If the guilty party is insured then the plaintiff will need to notify the insurance company. In most circumstances they will issue a cheque for the damages up to the limit of the individual policy. If the guilty party is uninsured, however, then the process of recovering damages becomes much harder. In this situation it may be necessary to seek an attorney who specializes in collecting judgments.

A personal injury settlement attorney's fee is usually negotiated before the case begins. In California the fee is typically 40% if the case is litigated through trial or arbitration. The fee will be based on the retainer agreement between the plaintiff and the lawyer handling the case. Some retainer agreements stipulate that the fees are calculated on the gross settlement before medical bills are paid whereas some are paid out on the net amount. If your case wins then a structured settlement will be negotiated, where by the plaintiff will receive regular monthly payments, rather than a one off lump sum. However, it is also possible to sell structured settlement payments to an annuity buyer and receive a cash lump sum.

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