Structured Settlements

What if you were injured?

The things you should know.

A structured settlement is a financial or insurance arrangement, including periodic payments, that a claimant with a personal injury tort claim accepts to resolve or to compromise a statutory periodic payment obligation. Structured settlements were first utilized in the United States during the 1970s as an alternative to lump sum settlements. Structured settlements are now part of the statutory tort law of several common law countries including but not limited to Australia, Canada, England and the United States. Although some uniformity exists, each of these countries has its own definitions, laws and standards for structured settlement.

Structured settlements may include income tax and spend thrift requirements as well as benefits. Structured settlement payments are sometimes called periodic payments. A structured settlement incorporated into a trial judgment is called a periodic payment judgment. Federal structured settlement laws include sections of the Federal Internal Revenue Code. State structured settlement laws include structured settlement protection statutes and periodic payment of judgment statutes. Medicaid and Medicare laws and regulations impact structured settlements. To preserve a claimant’s Medicare and Medicaid benefits, structured settlement payments may be incorporated into Special Needs Trusts and the Medicare Set Aside Arrangements.

For Federal income taxation purposes, the United States definition of structured settlement is found in Internal Revenue Code Section 5891(c)

1. is an arrangement that meets the following requirements:
   A suit or agreement for periodic payment of damages excluded from gross income under Internal Revenue Code Section 104(a)


2. An agreement for the periodic payment of compensation under any workers’ compensation law excluded under Internal Revenue Code Section 104(a)

1. The periodic payments must be of the character described in sub paragraphs (A) and (B) of Internal Revenue Code Section 130(c)


2. must be payable by a person who: Is a party to the suit or agreement or to a workers' compensation claim; or By a person who has assumed the liability for such periodic payments under a Qualified Assignment in accordance with Internal Revenue Code Section 130.
   

Now O. K. before you say I'm losing you with all the legal reference's let me get to the basis and importance of this hub. Now if we take a minute and forget the commercials we hear and see and go off on our branding of Lawyers and so on. I want to offer you a little different perspective on this. If we could look back in time and some of us can a little through grandparents or even maybe great grandparents. Think of how many times you've seen some elderly man missing some fingers or walking with a limp or missing a limb or half a limb. And probably if we asked most of them would tell us of the accident at work or while driving or helping a neighbor build or fix something. And also most of them probably suffered through the rest of their lives having to adjust to the things they could and could not do the same. Also most would probably tell you they never got any assistance financial or otherwise for the loss.

And that's why this issue and law is important, ever try living on a fixed income? Now imagine being young and getting injured and not being able to pursue your career and I don't think Walmart pays allot being a door greeter. So this really comes down to more than just suing the pants off somebody this could simply be a matter of making right and providing that which was lost. And losing one's lively hood can be devastating for the person, their spouse, children and everything around them. Hopefully this will never happen to any of us but when it does what do you do?

Well the obvious and only advice is get Legal representation because for most of us this is way over our ability to know exactly what we would need or deserve to provide a suitable living in a injured condition. Because there are just allot of things we would miss or not think about and sometimes we may not fully understand what certain injuries will do to our future. So if you have suffered an injury at work at someones home at someones place of business no matter how minor you may think it to be get proper advice from a Lawyer who specializes in this field before you dismiss it. You may seem fine now or it may just seem like a small injury but if you don't pursue it and it becomes a problem later oh well. So get what is right the first time.

I really would like to hear from you let me know what you have gone through if you've suffered an accident and please add any advice you might have.

Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

This is a Hub that I am a little behind in writing it really should have been one of my first. And I will actually be planning to keep a series of Hubs on this topic as I feel it is a very worthy topic. I only hope and pray my words are worthy enough for the cause and that they can impress on all who read it to help the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and other Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation's in anyway possible.

First on a personal note I have no affiliation with St. Jude and the only association I have with them is my donations. Now my donations are meager at best I will admit as I like many of you live on a pretty much week to week basis and also like many of you there are certain parts of each month when my pay just covers the bills due that week. But I always try as often as I can to give what I can for Cancer research.

Now I have not been what you would call a lifetime giver to St. Jude. Just over the last few years. I started when after a few times of getting those handy little envelope labels and notepads they mail out. Now I'm sure many of you know what I'm referring to and you probably even used one of the labels yourself mailing a off bill or something. But one day I actually read the letter that came with the labels and a light kind of came on when I realized the services St Jude's and other Cancer Research and Children's Hospitals offer. Not only to the children who are so innocent and undeserving of having this dreadful disease but to the families many of whom are often suffering through several tragedies at the same time.

The main and obvious one of course is seeing their child suffer with something they have no control over. And then there is the added pressure from the financial strain as many of the parents do and rightfully so want to be with their children as much is possible. Those of us with children and who have been blessed not to have to face this can barely begin to imagine the pain and hardship these children and their families go through. I think we all can understand though that if we did face this things like our career's, house's, car's and such would suddenly take a back seat to our child.

And this is where St. Jude Children's Research Hospital becomes a God send to Cancer patients and their families. But this is also where St. Jude along with the children and their families need us. Cancer is as we all know a very expensive disease and all of St. Jude's services are provided on a non profit basis. Here are Some facts about St. Jude Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was founded in 1962 by the late entertainer Danny Thomas. Its mission is to find cures for children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and from around the world.

On average, 5,400 active patients visit the hospital each year, most of whom are treated on an outpatient basis.
St. Jude has 78 inpatient beds and treats upwards of 250 patients each day.
St. Jude is the first and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute.
St. Jude is the first institution established for the sole purpose of conducting basic and clinical research and treatment into catastrophic childhood diseases, mainly cancer.
Research findings at St. Jude are shared freely with doctors and scientists all over the world.
St. Jude also enjoys a worldwide reputation as a teaching facility. The medical and scientific staff published more than 600 articles in academic journals in 2008, more than any other pediatric cancer research center in the United States. This is an average of a St. Jude paper being published every 17 hours.

St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the family’s inability to pay.
St. Jude has developed protocols that have helped push overall survival rates for childhood cancers from less than 20 percent when the hospital opened in 1962 to 80 percent today.
Now please if you just kind of skimmed over this at least read closely the last to point's and let them sink in! This is what caught my heart just realizing the ease this places on the parents of these children. And seeing how much of a difference they have made in Pediatric Cancer Research and how they have changed the survival rate.

Think about that and let's put in visual terms in 1962 if you had 100 children with Cancer over 80 of them died! Compared to today where only 20 would die and I'm sure they are determined to make this number even lower.

So please join me by following the link below and give what ever you can. You will also see many of the other service's they provide and most importantly the children who could be yours or mine and deserve a happy normal life. I hope this Hub will do them some service and touch some of you to give and support a Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation today!

Now even if you can't donate look over their patient and parent section and pick a child by name and pray for them and pray for all those in the Pediatric Cancer Research field.