The most important thing to realize in the process of deciding whether to pursue legal action in cases of medical malpractice is that more than 90% of all such lawsuits settle out of court. More than half of all medical malpractice lawsuits are related to errors in diagnosis, treatment, or medication, and only about 5% of all suits end in a judgment. The rest are settled out of court: health care facilities may be reluctant to have an official judgment entered against them, and with the payout for medical malpractice lawsuits topping $900,000 in some cases, medical malpractice victims may find themselves in a winning position.
Of course, the decision between a structured settlement and a lump sum payment is an important one. Individuals who opt for a structured settlement may find that in a few years, their daily expenses exceed the amount that they receive every year. In such cases, there are finance companies that will pay cash for annuity payments. Every individual has different routine expenses, such as rent or mortgage, school loans, medical bills, and auto costs, and the conversion of an annuity into a lump sum cash payment could make covering day-to-day bills more manageable.
There are some costs associated with annuities: surprisingly, just paying fees to financial managers could cost lawsuit winners as much as 3% every year. Getting cash for annuity payments can be a more cost-effective option, and once daily bills are covered, lawsuit winners could find that they are able to cover the costs associated with education and home ownership without having to commit to an interest-bearing loan.
Early withdrawal from annuities can also be costly: if a lawsuit winner wishes to have early access to future annuity payments, they could be subject to a 10% withdrawal fee. Again, there are firms that handle the conversion of annuities into lump sum cash payouts; being able to examine the fees associated with structured settlement annuity benefits can help people who have won malpractice lawsuits to make sound financial decisions about their money.
For every malpractice lawsuit that is settled in America, there are about eight cases that do not get prosecuted in court. Medical malpractice victims may not realize that they have a valid case, and although there are fewer malpractice lawsuits filed every year, the reality could be that there are thousands more that go unreported. Making the decision to receive cash for annuity payments can be exciting, but if victims do not report neglect and malpractice, then they will never know if they could have won their case.
