Expert: David Conboy - 3/22/2011

Question
Hello Mr Chou, i am a 25 year old yound male who was seriously injured in a vehicle accident three years ago. My company's insurance company wants to settle out this case. They have given me two options, one is a lump sum. The other is payments with lifetime medical. These options where given with no dollar figures. They are asking me for a dollar figure, but i wanted to know what do you think is a reasonable sum for this case and what type of outcome should i be looking for or expecting in this case?
Look forward to hearing from you and thank you in advance for your help.

Answer
Dear D. Major,

The amount you should decide to settle upon should be relative to the injuries you sustained - the worse the injury, and the more negligent the employer was, the more you should settle for.  You'll need to determine what your earning capacity is going to be for the remainder of your life and then figure out an amount that allows you to pay all the normal and customary bills that people pay each month (rent, heat, lights, gas, food, auto repair, insurance, etc.).  Also, you will need to determine if the lump sum will be equal to or greater than the payments and medical insurance are going to be over time.  The other thing you should consider is if you believe this company will remain in business and able to pay you over time.  In other words, if they go out of business, what happens to payments if you decide to take payments versus the lump sum payout?  If you take a lump sum payment, you will need to invest that money in an investment vehicle that will provide you all the money necessary to meet your financial obligations.

This question is really outside the scope of a mediator such as myself and you may want to re-ask this question to an attorney on this site.  I hope this answer has been helpful.

David