At Total Injury, we try to present you with both sides of the story so you can weigh the pros and cons of your options. In a recent article on early settlements, we detailed why early settlements make sense from a business owner’s view. We explained that through settlements, companies can avoid the costs of expensive medical bills.

In that article, we touched on the fact that sometimes a settlement can make sense for businesses but not personal injury victims. Last week, we published an article that provides an alternative perspective on how early settlements may benefit injury victims. A recent study in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies has shown that plaintiffs who turn down settlements may end up spending even more money on the trial.

You can read about both perspectives at Study Proposes Early Settlements to Lower Business Costs - at the Expense of Injury Victims and Personal Injury Settlements Can Be a Good Decision: An Alternative Viewpoint.

The Injury Site blog appears to be very active, but in fact, nobody is really writing the Injury Site blog (injurysite dot com) at all. 

Instead, the entire contents of the Injury Site blog have been scraped from the Total Injury Blog. 

Total Injury has a staff of writers, designers, and developers, including several attorney writers and researchers.  The Injury Site apparently has no such thing, because this blogger has been unable to find a single post on the Injury Site blog that didn’t appear on the Total Injury blog first.  If you’re reading this post on the Injury Site blog, it’s a safe bet that no one at the Injury Site is even READING the blog—otherwise, they’d surely have prevented this post from appearing.

If you’re reading this post on Total Injury, thanks for visiting, and we apologize for the interruption.  We’ll have more timely personal injury news and commentary for you later today.

Employees tend to relax at company-sponsored holiday parties and some may act inappropriately.  An employee may verbally or physically harass another employee or drive drunk and cause a personal injury automobile accident.  Company owners, managers and supervisors should make sure employees know they are expected to drink alcohol in moderation at the holiday party.

It is up to company executives and supervisors to set the tone for a holiday party and prevent incidents which could lead to a personal injury lawsuit.   The company may be held liable for a personal injury incident involving employees during or even after the holiday party.  Company parties can be alcohol-free or provide transportation arrangements for employees who drink too much to safely drive home after the party.

Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels LLP reached a settlement against Ephedra manufacturer and distributor Metabolife.  The $56 million personal injury settlement will be distributed to non-insured and under-insured tort claimants. 

Metabolife now known as MII Liquidation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2005 after the FDA banned the Ephedra product in 2004.  The personal injury settlement includes a plan to liquidate Metabolife’s creditors as well as settle the numerous worldwide tort claims against the company.

Often personal injury victims have a tough time, financially, while their cases make their way through the courts or through a lengthy settlement negotiation. Medical bills can pile up, and lost work time may mean cutting corners and overusing credit. When the settlement check comes, the temptation may be strong to put those days of strict budgeting behind you. However, money management is even more important once that settlement comes in.
It’s more important because good management of a lump sum payment can generate income for you. It’s also more important because while you were waiting for the settlement, there was always money coming. Now, unless you’re receiving a structured settlement, this is it–there’s no more where it came from, and it has to cover all of those expenses you incurred during and after your injury, provide for any future medical care or associated expenses, and often cover interest charges and late fees that piled up while you were unable to work.
Even big lottery winners sometimes end up in bankruptcy. A personal injury settlement is hardly a windfall like winning the lottery, but it may be a sum of money much larger than you’re used to handling at one time, and it may look like it’s going to stretch much further than it really will.
Some tips for making sure that money provides what it was intended to provide:
1. Don’t start spending money right away–put the money into an interest bearing account and let it sit there until you’ve had time to take some of the other steps on this list and to think through your priorities.
2. Make a list, in order of priority. Include outstanding bills, any remaining medical care and supplies, expenses related to your accident, debts (especially those with high interest rates)…and THEN the things you’d like to do if there’s adequate money left over.
3. Invest. Depending upon the amount of your settlement, you might be surprised to discover how much that money can earn for you. Before you do, though, get some good advice about short and long-term investing, and make sure that you’re maximizing your returns while allowing yourself security and whatever flexibility you need to access cash.