A Trinity College student was seriously injured over the weekend during a fraternity party. According to news reports, the student dove into a makeshift pool that had been dug into the ground. The exact nature of the injuries have not been reported. The student was taken to Hartford Hospital. There have been no news reports as to whether alcohol was involved.
Should I settle my personal injury case or take it to trial? This is a question that plaintiffs face from time to time and it can be a very difficult decision. A new study has come out showing that the plaintiff was wrong 61% of the time in electing to take the case to trial versus settling the case. In other words, in 61% of the cases where the plaintiff rejected the settlement and went to trial, the verdict was less than the defendant’s best settlement offer. It appears that this study only involved cases where the verdict was in the plaintiff’s favor. The study also notes that when the defendant incorrectly elects to go to trial, the verdict is much higher than the plaintiff’s settlement demand. Read more about the personal injury settlement and verdict study here.
“Cervical Sprain/Strain” refers to an injury to the muscles, ligaments, and other connective tissues of the neck, head, and upper back resulting from a sudden and severe snapping motion, either forward and back or side-to-side. Motor vehicle crashes are among the most common causes of these injuries. Many neck strains caused by a car or truck accident result in permanent pain. The permanency of the injury is typically diagnosed by the patient’s treating orthopedic doctor.
If, as a result of your personal injuries, you have received medical care paid by your employee health plan, the health plan will probably be entitled to reimbursement for those expenses from any settlement you receive. This is called subrogation or third-party reimbursement. In addition, a lien may be placed on your settlement by the insurer. Whether your employee health plan has a right of subrogation is based upon the language contained in the plan or policy. Look through the document, if it contains sections entitled subrogation or third party liability, then you will be reimbursing the plan at the time of settlement. It is important to learn this early on in the case so that when the case is being settled, the lien can be factored into the settlement.
If you do not have a copy of the plan, the attorney will obtain it. When dealing with such a lien, our attorneys will work with the insurer to negoitate a compromise so that only a percentage of the lien is paid and the rest goes into the client’s pocket.
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