The settlement for the Charleston workers’ compensation case granted the victim of a work-related accident the chance to seek medical care and address the subsequent expenses. For a worker injured within the scope of their employment, an attorney may be necessary to advocate for your rights.
If you are in need of legal representation when dealing with a claim, reach out to an attorney who has experience handling these issues.
Steps Taken to Resolve the Case Outside of Court
To attempt a resolution outside of court, we sent a settlement demand. This is a document sent to the defense with all the attachments of evidence proving our damages, proving both liabilities, showing how what happened was the defendant’s fault, and setting out the damages that were incurred by our client. Such damages could account for past and future lost wages and past and future medical bills. In addition to the research done on economic losses, we did a jury verdict research to get an idea of what juries have been paying out for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life for the types of injuries that were sustained in their accident.
We send a demand over to the defendants asking for a resolution of the case. We began some negotiations with them, but unfortunately, the settlement did not occur at that time. This involved a series of months of discovery and litigation in which the depositions were taken, interrogatories were taken, requests for production were filed, requests for different discovery tools were used, subpoenas were issued to help further develop and test the evidence. The case then went to mediation, which was mandatory for that specific case. In mediation, the parties hire a neutral mediator, which could be either a lawyer or a former judge who enters the case as a neutral and who tries to facilitate the settlement between the defendants and the plaintiff.
What Settlement Agreements Look Like
A settlement agreement addresses all material terms of the settlement. It typically states that both parties, for a certain amount of money, agree to walk away and end all claims. The plaintiff agrees that, for the money being paid, they are willing to walk away from the case. There is no extra value or award that is being offered other than the amount of money being paid by defendants. There is no threat of harm from the defendant, rather it is a cash payment to settle any and all claims, whatever the damages may be. In this case, the settlement document was drafted by the defendants, encapsulated all of those issues, was executed by both parties, and was filed with the court to resolve the case.
In this particular case, we had a very satisfied client. In any case, there is a max value as well as a lower value regarding what the case may be worth. When measuring whether or not a client won a case, we balance whether or not we were closer to the ceiling or to the floor of the case’s value. In this particular case, we thought we were very close to the ceiling, so we were satisfied and the client was satisfied as well.
Receiving the Agreed Upon Compensation
It took between 45 and 60 days after we reached the settlement for the monetary award to be approved and received.
The settlement was fairly routine. The monies were paid by the defendants. We brought the client in and we dispersed the proceeds of the case to them. Since all parties had reached an agreement, there was no challenge offered by the plaintiff of the case.
How Challenging Is It to Overturn a Settlement in Charleston?
It is difficult to overturn a settlement agreement. However, in some cases it may be done. The only reason that the case would be overturned would be some type of fraud that occurred by either party or some type of mutual mistake that was made in reaching the agreement. None of that was present in this case, so there was no challenge by either party. Thus there was no chance of it being overturned because nobody requested that it be overturned.
Learn More about Workers’ Compensation Settlements from a Charleston Attorney
For our client in the Charleston workers’ compensation case, the settlement they received was found to be agreeable and what the client was looking for. With that compensation, the client was able to address his medical expenses after sustaining an injury at work.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, choosing to work with a dedicated workers’ compensation lawyer could prove fruitful. Speak to an attorney today by reaching out and learning how one could help you.
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