Settlement Possiblity

[medic1]

Hey,
My Lawyers and I are looking in to settleing my workers comp claim. I need to find out all the expenses from now til I die. Including surgeries, medications, secondary ailments, etc. In the settlement I have to put aside a certain amount of money for medicare to draw from each year before they pick up the tab. I am looking for all opinions on what I should include in future expenses for my injury. Home modifications, personal attendant, assisted living expenses? I am not sure what needs to be included and what isnt. Please forward me to a posting or forum that has information on cases that have been settled. I dont want to end up short changed and I need to make sure all my needs will be taken care of.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Art454]

Do you have to settle?...You never know what is gona happen...and from what I know.....any Medicare expense in the future comes out of your part of the settlement. Only one getting rich is the laywer. Someone settled here years ago for a million dollars now they are broke just for healthcare.

Am sure you will get other to comment on this...hopefully.

Art

[wheelin 48]

heres my 2 cents worth if your gonna settle get a good life care planner your lawyer should know one and the life care planner is supposed to be able to put a good number on it i agree with art i did not settle the work comp part so my work comp is responsible for all medical bills and medicine and anything else that has to do with your injury personally i dam glad i had a good lawyer and once he explained it all i didnt settle mine has bought any equipment i need do not settle its not worth it only bad part is is its like a marrage to your work comp sometimes good some bad but knock on wood mines been good so far hope this helps and im not ramblin on to much i could go on forr days just dont settle

[SCI-Nurse]

I agree. This is not a do-it-yourself job. There are good professional life care planners who do this all the time, and your attorney should spring for one as part of his expenses in the case. In addition, the life care planner's report should then go to an actuary who does life-span projections and estimates of inflation to add to the report (this should be an actuary who does these types of reports all the time too).

I used to do life care planning and I know how much work goes into this, how hard it is to get price information as a professional (and nearly impossible as a layperson), and what needs to be included and calculated. I would not attempt to do my own life care plan. I would be sure a professional who does exclusively SCI cases was hired. Most are experienced SCI nurses or physicians, although there are some PTs and OTs and social workers who do this as well.

(KLD)

[Broknwing]

IMHO....if you don't have to settle...DON'T!!!! you'll regret it later, even if you think you got a "good" or "decent" settlement now, you'll realize later something you should have done...

Do not let them out of continuing to pay your medical expenses...you'll regret this! The "Medicare Set-Aside" goes away FAST!!! your prescriptions and co-pays can eat it up before you can use it for anything major you might need. Either way, get a GOOD Life Care Plan done and double check EVERY ammount figured into it, Do not let the worker's comp co hire the life care planner, find them yourself....

[medic1]

I had a life care plan done about a year into my injury. I am still waiting for them to send me a copy. I dont want to settle, but my lawyer thinks it might be the best option. I have been out of school for a year trying to find a job, but have had not found one yet.

If I settle my case, I will receive my social security disability, which I dont receive right now cause it is offset by my work comp. I wanted to settle my wage and leave open medical, but my lawyer says that this is not possible. I know it would be big bucks before I actually agree to anything. I dont want to rush anything and i am going to take this very slow.

As far as medicare goes, I guess it would be set up so each year has so much set aside each year for injury related expenses and then if that runs out medicare starts to pay. I would for sure want the monthly medicare fee paid, the gap of drugs covered, etc.

Everything seems so incredibly complecated though. It would be nice to not have work comp constantly hassleing me over things but I would rather have that than have to worry about expenses down the road.

[cass]

i disagree with negative comments about a settlement. been there.

do you have a very good attorney? are you looking at an annuity? many questions here. who recommended your attorney? these are rhetorical questions.

[medic1]

The attorny is one that I have had since the begining of my case. It is a group of attorneys, one handles the work comp and one handles my auto ins. they are pretty much the only attorneys in the UP that know how to handle work comp auto and disability.

I am trying to get all the info I can and then calling my lawyer friday and going to tell him everything I have been informed of.

[Liz321]

look into annuities too many people blow their settlements...it doesn't effect medicare only WORKING/Wages effect medicare

lawyers should have a good life planner

[medic1]

are annuities when the money is paid out so much a month or year or something instead of me just having the money? That would be a great option to stay budgeted

[cass]

are annuities when the money is paid out so much a month or year or something instead of me just having the money? That would be a great option to stay budgeted

yes. also structured settlement. ask your attorney. i'm going out on a limb here, but if your attorney has not even addressed these terms and explained them to you, i'd be a bit worried. my legal advice and referrals come from a chief judge, who happens to be a childhood friend.

btw, any good attorney will do your lifelong expenses. that's child's play. sure you have a good attorney?

workman's comp. if in a union, consult them, if you haven't.

[medic1]

nope not in a union. I have not talked a whole lot to my lawyer about any type of settlement possibility yet. He had just called a few weeks ago and asked me to start thinking about it

[Timaru]

nope not in a union. I have not talked a whole lot to my lawyer about any type of settlement possibility yet. He had just called a few weeks ago and asked me to start thinking about it

I'm with Cass here, if you have a sh1t hot lawyer he should be telling you what to do and offering alternatives if you reject his opinions.

It sounds as if your council is winging it rather.

[cass]

and i agree w/timaru. i was never treated this way by my attorneys. any way you can get a good referral?

[Broknwing]

i disagree with negative comments about a settlement. been there.

do you have a very good attorney? are you looking at an annuity? many questions here. who recommended your attorney? these are rhetorical questions.

you settled a worker's comp case? I'm speaking from MY OWN EXPERIENCE on MY OWN SCI/Worker's Comp Settlement...BTDT would do things differently. I got screwed by my atty & the life care plan...It's NOT worth settling...W/C IS paying for you already, they should continue to pay for you forever...Mine wasn't paying for me, nor were they forced to continue paying for me...DO NOT SETTLE!

[cass]

like i said, many questions here. my friend, the chief judge, handles only worker's comp cases. if you were screwed by your attorney, chelle, that was my concern here. sounds like op is not getting good info from attorney. i'm sorry you had a bad exp. and was just trying to prevent someone else from having one. this attorney doesn't sound like a good one.

and no, a life care plan is not a good idea. not the same thing as annuity or settlement. where did life care plan come into this?

[life]

In most states under work comp laws you can settle everything but the medical. Meaning the medical will remain open permanently hence it will keep paying the medical bills. Ask your lawyer if this is an option in your state.

[diableddadinMI]

Greetings:

Having settled two former workers comp suits, you can never put a total and end all figure on the expenses you are describing. However, if I am not to late in this response, You need to start a journal and start listing out on a each seperate piece of paper each category of "significant loss" to your daily living routine. This includes your spouse ad children as well.
Start with medical; medical supplies, precriptions if you do not have covered Rx coverage from the work comp carrier. This is something else that you can negotitate, Rx coverage for 5-10 years with a cap of $2K-$3 yearly depending upong your injury and needs. Then work on Aided devices, wheel chairs, (electric mobility units) lifts for your vehicles, ramps for your homes, home modificaions, kitchen, bathroom, doorways, etc. I would ve a licensed contractor come over and give me a written estimate. This is what I did and actually had done.

Any other questions, please feel free to write.

[medic1]

At this point I have decided not to settle anything with medical. It is all way too complicated. I would like to settle wages but have been told you can not settle one with out the other. I am going to be looking for a new attorney. I live in Michigan, if anyone has any information on a reputable lawyer wanting to take on an extremely complex case please private message me with your information. Thanks so much.

[Liz321]

good luck

[zippnpuff]

My personal advice is to get part annuity and lump-sum if possible. the annuity will give you some direction on your budgeting. The lump sum should be saved in a stable balance investment portfolio, you should talk to a financial planner. You can choose to receive payments from your lump sum investment portfolio as well. The lump sum gives you the flexibility of accessing more funds in case of emergencies.

Invested properly lump sums is much more beneficial than annuities. most of the structured annuities that were offered to me cannot keep up with the inflation rate. however, any interests out of the annuity is tax-free compared to capital gains tax interest tax and dividends tax for your portfolio. However, if you planning on doing rehabilitation and spending money on your care then the expenses would just negate much all your taxes (canada). Invested long-term the value of your portfolio should increase, depending on how much you spend out of it.

If you think you can follow a budget then I look at the lump sum. If not you should do the combo.