When a Child has a TBI from a accident, settlement negotiations with regard to the amount of money compensation may require the use of a highly sophisticated array of experts.
A very serious car accident child injury case, for example, may require:
Doctors and Surgeons, to explain what the child will reasonably need in terms of future care, care frequency, possible complications, allowing for and including aging.
A child psychologist or psychiatrist’s opinion as to what the effects may be upon the child’s interaction with his or her peers, and perhaps a estimate for so many visits per year for a mental health tune-up and reassessment.
A life-care planner. The life care planner may visit with you and may suggest changes to your home or apartment such as wheelchair ramps, lifts, specialized transportation. The life care planner will produce a list of the costs needed, and these costs will be part of the settlement negotiations.
Vocational Rehabilitation expert, to supply a opinion about what jobs, professions, education may not be attainable and what different pay for may be expected for the kind of jobs and wages that the child may be able to perform, if any, in the future.
Government benefits planner.
Annuity planner. Any lump sum may or may not benefit from being placed into an annuity.
Such a decision is a hard one. The annuity company must be very very stable and trustworthy.
The highest possible rating. The decision of whether or not to use an annuity for all or part of the settlement should be made before the settlement is finalized because at the time of this writing, there are different tax considerations that may apply.
For more important information about how to evaluate and assess a settlement offer or enter into negotiations from a tactical position of good information and strength, please take a look at the section called “long term consequences”.
As if this section is not already difficult for me to write and explain — knowing that one or more of you will be having great and tragic upheaval in your family and that is why you are here reading this–sometimes the severity of the injuries and the expected health care consequences may point to a diminished life expectation, or a lower life expectancy.
Yes, believe it or not the insurance company does sometimes deliberately use the fact that the negligence of their driver or the Company they insure has shortened the life of your child. And they sometimes benefit from this outrageous and insensitive argument.
A Actuary may be used to counter this.
When it may be alleged by the insurance company attorney that the settlement money should be less, because your child will not live as long due to the injuries such arguments are usually not made to your face. They are made indirectly, through the tactful use of the insurance companies via a review of the medical records and report.
As you can clearly see, the decision as to which experts to retain, how well qualified the experts are, and familiarity with the many different areas of needed expertise are part of the personal injury trial attorney’s tactical considerations.
Remember, you cannot depend upon your case settling.
Some personal injury law firms do not go to trial. Ever.
The insurance companies know the ones that do not.
I think generally that the best way to accomplish a fair money compensation settlement is to show the insurance company that we are prepared to go to trial.
