REAL LIFE STORIES OF STRUCTURED SETTLEMENT CASES

CASE 1:
With tears rolling down her cheeks, Veronica’s mom started, “It was 9.00AM in the morning when Veronica, 9 was having her breakfast and was about to leave as her van man was waiting for her, on top of all this she was already getting late. It takes a 20 step walk and a small cross to reach the bus stand or wherever her van man stopped the van. On her way crossing the road, a scooter dashed her and went away without even checking whether if the 9 year old was fine, thankfully she was not injured. After heaving relieve of sigh she again tried crossing the road. Call it a fate or carelessness she was hit by a car or literally thrown away in air which twisted her legs and her left hand was broken” said Niara still crying. So, a structured settlement company purchased this case, where they were demanding $30000 till Veronica turned 20 as a lump-sum payment. The court finally decided and an agreement was made stating that Veronica will be paid $1559 before she turns 18 and will be given $77 per year” she ended.

CASE 2:                
In previous case, the incident was different. It was a child and so feeling pity on her court offered some meaningful settlement. Will this case be the same even if a wage worker gets injured? Here comes an incident witnessed by a stranger…Robert Welborg, a 40 year old employee was working under a construction field when the lift lost its balance and a steel plated door fell on his back breaking his spinal cord. Doctor’s declared that he will not be able to work henceforth. A group of employee’s went together for Mr.Welborg raising questions as to what how his family is going to survive? The company that also was equally responsible for his loss agreed to pay Mr. Welborg half of his salary adding his usual pay till he survives.

CASE 3:
Merlin, a close friend of Kenny started narrating the incident, “Kenny’s mom was paralyzed when she met with a terrible accident and court accepted to pay her $8000 for the next 15 years. It was the 10th year and they were getting their settlement as usual. Everything doesn’t seem to be well always. Suddenly Kenny’s mom passed away leaving her all alone. The same structured company that handled her mom’s case purchased this too. Kenny, being the beneficiary got $8000 for the next 5 years, excluding the payments that are already made.

CASE 4:
The lawyer who handled the case said, “Disha was ordered to be paid $2000 for 5 years in a structured settlement after she fell from the 2nd floor of her residence. After 2 peaceful years, she was planning to shift to a new place for which she was in need of a huge amount. Taking this to the court, she was given the right to get her yearly settlements in a lump-sum”.

CASE 5:
Sarah Joseph a 24 year old pharmacist suffered a construction injury while shopping at a local grocery store when a construction tool bar fell on her shoulder. After contacting the claims department for the store and construction firms, she received no apology and no assistance with her medical bills or treatment. She then contacted attorney of personal injury firm in Los Angeles, They immediately referred her to medical specialists to diagnose and treat her injuries.The client sustained shoulder injuries requiring two surgeries .The attorney was able to show that despite the fact the store and construction companies were renovating during store hours, they failed to put up adequate warning signs for customers or take steps to protect their customers from a potential construction injury. The grocery store attempted to argue that the client walked through caution tape to get to the aisle where she was injured; however the attorney was able to show that no such caution tape was placed. The client's past medical bills totaled $170,000.00 and her doctors testified that she would require ongoing treatment for her thoracic outlet syndrome. After all the proofs she receieved a settlement of $1,150,000.00.

CASE 6:
The City of Houston had a Halloween event and rented big inflatable slide which was over 2 stories high. It was tied down and City employees were stationed at the entrance ladder to prevent overcrowding. At the end of the day, the employees abandoned their positions and went to the top of slide with others who rushed to the top. Due to the weight and failure to properly tie down the slide, it toppled over a father holding his 4 year old daughter in his arms, and others on the slide hurtling towards the ground. He lost his grip on the child during the fall and they were separated and buried under the now deflated slide. The father sustained an injury requiring surgery while the child sustained concussion. The City initially denied the claim, however after extensive litigation the case was settled for $312,500.00