Structured Settlements: A Practical Guide Book

In the field of personal injury litigation, "structured settlements" are new legal technology. This text attempts to explain the workings of these settlements and to predict the outcome of the concept. What does the litigator have to do to bring this "technology" into action? When does he do it? How does this technology work? What are its component parts and how are they put together, and by whom? These are the questions which this book is designed to answer. The answers, however, can represent no more than the present state of this new and rapidly-developing field, as the concept of the structured settlement has not yet reached a final stage. As a result, the US experience is examined, offering a perspective of the route which may be followed in the UK. In examining the workings of structured settlements, the text seeks to examine the issue from different perspectives: from the viewpoints of the victim, of the victim's legal adviser, the "Exchequer", the Bar and the forensic accountant (whose role in the field of structured settlements is recognized in the relevant Practice Direction). This bringing together of a number of disciplines looking at a litigation problem from different angles (each representing, perhaps, different interests) has a bearing on the significance of structured settlements in the overall setting of personal injury litigation: such settlements cannot be imposed by the courts, they can only be achieved by consent. They benefit both sides. Thus, there is an incentive to both sides to work, if possible, in harmony with each other, rather than contentiously at arm's length.Read More