About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


13 Stetson L. Rev. 309 (1983-1984)
Structured Settlements: Customized Compensation for Personal Injury Plaintiffs

handle is hein.journals/stet13 and id is 319 raw text is: COMMENTARY STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS:1 CUSTOMIZED COMPENSATION FOR PERSONAL INJURY PLAINTIFFS* INTRODUCTION In a courtroom in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a jury recently awarded 12 million dollars to a 26 year-old woman who suffered per- manent brain damage while under hospital care.2 Although this award is the largest jury verdict for personal injuries in Florida his- tory,3 it represents just one in a growing legion of multi-million dollar verdicts awarded across the nation.4 The first million-dollar-plus ver- dict occurred in 1962,5 and of all such verdicts awarded since, 30 per- cent were rendered in 1981 alone-the last year for which complete statistics are available. In that year, moreover, the average size of personal injury jury verdicts increased almost 31 percent.7 Given these startling statistics, it is no wonder that personal in- jury defendants have sought alternative ways to settle personal injury cases. One such alternative, is the structured settlement, which is * This Commentary was awarded the Elizabeth M. Leeman Award, which is given to the best student work in each issue. 1. The term Structured Settlement is claimed as a proprietary service mark by the Structured Settlements Co., Los Angeles, California. 67 A.B.A. J. 396, 396-97 (1983). Arguably, the term structured settlement has become a generic label for alternative settlements involving periodic payments. The term structured settlement has been used to describe these types of settlements in the vast majority of literature on the subject. 2. See Florida Medical Center, Inc. v. Von Stetina, 436 So. 2d 1022 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983), affirming an award of 12.47 million dollars for compensatory damages. 3. JURY VERDICT RESEARCH, INC., 1 PERSONAL INJURY VALUATION HANDBOOK, Florida Ver- dict Survey 9 (1983). 4. See, e.g., 3 Nat'l L.J., May 4, 1981 at 1, col. 5. 5. Id. The first verdict to exceed one million dollars was rendered in Faulk v. Aware, Inc., 35 Misc. 2d 302, 231 N.Y.S.2d 270 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1962). On appeal, the Appellate Division determined that the damages were excessive and reduced the $3 million verdict to $550,000. 19 A.D.2d 464, 244 N.Y.S.2d 259 (1963). The Court of Appeals affirmed the reduction. 14 N.Y.2d 954, 202 N.E.2d 372, 253 N.Y.S.2d 990 (1966). 6. JURY VERDICT RESEARCH, INC., 1 PERSONAL INJURY VALUATION HANDBOOK, CURRENT AWARD TRENDS 13 (No. 270, 1983). 7. Id. 8. See Tinsman, What's it Really Worth?, 14 TRL 30 (Sept. 1978). The phrase defend-