Case Study:
Brain Injury with Settlement in Excess of the Available Insurance Coverage

Joy Knight*, a partially-sighted disabled individual who uses a white cane, was struck while crossing the street. She was knocked to the pavement and taken by ambulance to Harborview Medical Center. As a result of her brain injury, she required a craniotomy and experienced a cognitive disorder. The accident also resulted in temporomandibular joint problems, vertigo, and fear of traffic.

Before the trial, Nelson Langer Nelson was able to achieve a mediated settlement which included the liability insurance limits of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000), in addition to one hundred eighty thousand dollars ($180,000) from the at-fault driver himself. Another feature of this settlement included a special needs trust. That trust allowed our client to invest part of her settlement so as to meet ongoing monthly expenses while maintaining her eligibility to receive governmental benefits. In addition, an up-front cash allotment allowed her to purchase a specially-suited condominium.

The liability insurance for this accident was not substantial enough to meet our client's needs. However, Nelson Langer Nelson's expertise in the combining of insurance coverages, excess or extra compensation, governmental entitlements, and special settlement vehicles, such as trusts, allowed limited resources to be stretched and combined for maximum client benefit.

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In this case, as many, also appreciably victimized are the spouse and children, who suffer compensable losses termed "loss of consortium" damages. Nelson Langer Nelson takes pride in emphasizing the independent damages of these individuals. Through negotiation on behalf of the Smith family, a pretrial settlement of two and one-half million dollars ($2,500,000) was achieved. Actually, the long-term payout will be considerably greater by virtue of placing a portion of the settlement into a structured settlement annuity. Such annuities allow guaranteed, tax-free investment profits to be paid out at specified times in the future or for life. For instance, for the Smith children, college and early adult financial needs were able to be incorporated into the settlement by Nelson Langer Nelson. Accordingly, the long-term needs of the entire family can be met by combining aggressive case development along with engineered financial programs in the settlement process.

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