WHY ALL THE HYPE ABOUT STRUCTURED SETTLEMENT?

The first time you are acquainted with the subject of structured settlement, you usually wonder what the hype is all about. First of all, you notice that structured settlement attorneys pay exceedingly high amounts for adverts as revealed using keyword research tools (such as Google Adword Keyword Tool). Then, you ask, ‘why are they willing to pay so much?’ That of course implies that they are paid huge sums themselves. This in turn implies that their clients too have good money to spend. So why is it that every client of a structured settlement attorney would usually have good money to spend? The answer can be traced to nowhere else but their source.

In recent times in common law countries, structured settlement has almost become synonymous with cancer of the mesothelium, more technically known as Mesothelioma. Mesothelioma itself has been associated with asbestos ingestion. In fact, Mesothelioma is sometimes refered to as Asbestosis. Workers in asbestos companies are therefore said to be susceptible to Mesothelioma. When such workers are diagnosed with Mesothelioma, they expectedly would sue the offending company for damages. Because of the huge damage Mesothelioma involves on the part of its victims, and the fact that the defendants in Mesothelioma lawsuits are usually big stable companies with the financial wherewithal to pay the damages or risk the repercussion, the recipients are not only sure of being awarded colossal amounts, they are also certain that they will eventually get paid. Now, in common law countries, such huge damages are awarded to be paid as structured settlement (as installments rather than lump sum, that is).

Now, because Mesothelioma patients usually believe they will die long before the course of installment payment runs out (usually put in several decades or even centuries), they would want to have it in lump sum so they can use the money as they wish while they are still alife (many of them never get to die as expected though). Besides, they want to avoid a case whereby their next-of-kins would be brawled in legal battles arising from the structured settlement due to their expected demise. This is why they would want to sell the settlement for a lump sum. While these victims are willing to sell their settlement for a lump sum, there are people who are in need of a secure periodic earning – something like a pension – since they expect to live for considerable years.

The above scenario has given rise to a situation that is akin to money market investing, if only more secure. It is considered more secure because it is not subject to all the vagaries of the economy such as melt-down, bears, government policies and more. The value can appreciate too. You expect any niche that involves money – and huge money at that – to become a beehive, since almost everyone want to make more money.

The use of Mesothelioma in this essay is only exemplary. The fact is that damages huge enough to be put into structured settlement are usually ones in which it is felt that the said victims have incurred a terminal situation. Only such a situation is serious enough to deserve an amount that can be awarded as structured settlement. And there are far more such cases than we imagine.