Hands Off My Personal Injury Settlement!
If you are old enough to have a driver’s license, then you are old enough to know that, when someone promises you a large sum of money, there is always a catch. How many times have you gotten something in the mail that looks like a check for tens of thousands of dollars, only to find that it is just a loan offer, and if you borrow it, you must repay it with interest? All of those free trial subscriptions require you to input your credit card number so they can start charging you as soon as the trial period ends, and most people are too busy to cancel the subscription in time. Therefore, you are understandably skeptical when you see news stories about injured people getting huge damages awards in personal injury cases. How much of that money goes into the plaintiff’s pocket, and how much gets siphoned off by bureaucrats and charlatans? For help getting and keeping the money you need after an injury accident, contact a Columbia personal injury lawyer.
Are Personal Injury Settlements and Damages Awards Taxable?
Economic damages are not taxable income; this is because they are simply reimbursement for financial losses you suffered because of the accident, such as medical bills and lost income. Noneconomic damages, which compensate for pain and suffering, may or may not be taxable. According to South Carolina law, noneconomic damages are not taxable if they arise from a physical injury. If the noneconomic damages are purely for emotional distress unconnected to a physical injury, they are taxable.
Why Sue If My Lawyer Is Just Going to Take Part of the Money?
Plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits are, by nature, financially distressed, so they cannot afford to pay their lawyers much before the case is resolved. Sometimes personal injury lawyers charge clients a contingency fee, which means that the client pays the lawyer a damages award. Likewise, you can calculate your past and future legal fees in your requested economic damages amount.
Why Does My Insurance Company Get a Piece of the Pie?
Many plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits have employer-provided health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid. These insurers may pay for their portion of your medical bills for years before you get a settlement or damages award. Under South Carolina’s collateral source rule, you can include the amounts your insurer paid, but not the amount they wrote off, in your requested damages, but then you must reimburse the insurance company that amount. Think of it as the defendant reimbursing your insurer.
Do I Have to Share the Money With My Spouse If My Spouse Didn’t Get Hurt?
Personal injury settlements and damages awards are the separate property of the plaintiff; they are not marital property. You don’t have to share your settlement money with your spouse if you get divorced, but your spouse can point to it as evidence that you do not need alimony.
Let Us Help You Today
The personal injury lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can help you get adequate compensation for your personal injury claim. Contact The Stanley Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina or call (803)799-4700 for a free initial consultation.
Source:
americanbar.org/news/abanews/publications/youraba/2017/november-2017/red-flags-and-white-whales–beware-of-problem-clients/
