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Pros and Cons of Workers’ Comp Lump Sum Settlements
Topics in Legal News |
2018/09/28 15:54
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In Illinois, workers who have sustained a permanent injury as the result of an accident are entitled to accept a lump-sum settlement award rather than accepting a series of ongoing payments.
It is very important to fully understand the pros and cons of a lump sum settlement before you make a decision. Insurance companies will often try to offer a lump sum payment as it usually terminates any further payments to the employee and can end up costing the employer less in the long run.
A large lump sum benefit can look appealing to an injured worker, but it is important to review the situation with a skilled workers’ comp attorney to determine whether accepting the lump sum is in the best interest of the injured worker and whether the amount that has been offered is going to be sufficient for all the financial costs of their injury, both present and future.
Before accepting a lump sum settlement, an injured worker should consider important questions with an attorney including:
- How long will I be unable to work?
- What is the likelihood that the medical condition will get worse?
- How will the settlement affect my right to other benefits such as medical care?
- Is the claim being disputed by the insurance company?
- What is the total value of the current claim?
Once an employee accepts a lump sum benefit and the contract is accepted by the Commission, the employee will most likely no longer be eligible for any additional Workers Comp benefits for their injury, even if the condition worsens.
The choice is extremely important and can impact the injured worker for years to come. Every case is different. With over 60 years of combined legal experience, the law firm of Krol, Bongiorno, & Given has handled well over 30,000 claims for injured workers throughout the state of Illinois and have consistently generated some of the largest settlements and awards at the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. As with all of our cases, KB&G will only charge an attorney’s fee when there is a recovery for you. |
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Belgian court rules out extradition for Spanish rapper
Topics in Legal News |
2018/09/16 12:54
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A Belgian court on Monday ruled that Spanish rapper Valtonyc should not be sent back to Spain, where he was sentenced to prison accused of writing lyrics that praise terror groups and insult the royal family.
The rapper, whose real name is Jose Miguel Arenas Beltran, was supposed to turn himself in voluntarily in May to authorities in Spain, where he faces prison sentences totaling three and a half years, but instead fled to Belgium.
"The judge has decided there will be no extradition and discarded all three charges," his lawyer, Simon Bekaert, told reporters near the court in the city of Ghent.
Bekaert said the judge ruled "there is no terrorism involved, there is no incitement of terrorism, so there is no question of a crime according to Belgian law." He said the judge also found that there is no crime to answer to over insulting the Spanish king and that no threat was made that could warrant extradition.
"I feel good, I am happy. But I am sad for the people in Spain, who unlucky, they don't have justice like me here," Arenas told reporters, in English."
The ruling could re-ignite tensions between Belgium and Spain over extradition demands.
Late last year, Spain dropped a European arrest warrant against former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont after it became clear that Belgian justice authorities were unlikely to recognize some of the Spanish charges against him. |
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UN court hears case over strategic Indian Ocean islands
Topics in Legal News |
2018/09/02 22:42
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Officials from the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius told United Nations judges Monday that former colonial power Britain strong-armed its leaders half a century ago into giving up territory as a condition of independence, a claim that could have an impact on a strategically important U.S. military base.
Judges at the International Court of Justice began hearing arguments for an advisory opinion the U.N. General Assembly requested on the legality of British sovereignty over the Chagos Islands. The largest island, Diego Garcia, has housed the U.S. base since the 1970s.
"The process of decolonization of Mauritius remains incomplete as a result of the unlawful detachment of an integral part of our territory on the eve of our independence," Mauritius Defense Minister Anerood Jugnauth told judges.
Mauritius argues that the Chagos archipelago was part of its territory since at least the 18th century and taken unlawfully by the U.K. in 1965, three years before the island gained independence. Britain insists it has sovereignty over the archipelago, which it calls the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Jugnauth testified that during independence negotiations, then-British Prime Minister Harold Wilson told Mauritius' leader at the time, Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, that "he and his colleagues could return to Mauritius either with independence or without it and that the best solution for all might be independence and detachment (of the Chagos Islands) by agreement."
Ramgoolam understood Wilson's words "to be in the nature of a threat," Jugnauth said.
British Solicitor General Robert Buckland described the case as essentially a bilateral dispute about sovereignty and urged the court not to issue an advisory opinion. |
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N Carolina Supreme Court candidate sues over party label law
Topics in Legal News |
2018/08/05 08:59
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A North Carolina Supreme Court candidate has made good on his threat to sue Republican legislators to challenge a law finalized over the weekend preventing him from having his party designation next to his name on the November ballot.
Chris Anglin filed a lawsuit Monday against Republican legislative leaders and elections officials in state court. He wants the law declared unconstitutional and his GOP designation retained.
The law prevents judicial candidates from having party labels next to their names if they changed affiliations less than 90 days before filing. Anglin switched from a Democratic affiliation three weeks before filing.
Anglin says the law gives unfair benefit to opponent Justice Barbara Jackson, who will have a Republican label. The race's other candidate — Anita Earls — will have a Democratic label.
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SC Supreme Court to decide if elected sheriff is qualified
Topics in Legal News |
2018/08/03 09:00
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Clarke Stearns has been working as sheriff for more than 18 months in McCormick County, but it's still up in the air whether he is qualified to be the county's top lawman.
Stearns' Democratic opponent in the 2016 election, J.R. Jones, sued him within a month after his victory, saying Stearns never served as a law officer in South Carolina and therefore didn't meet the requirement of being a certified officer in the state.
Stearns' lawyers have successfully argued so far that his 30 years certified as a law enforcement officer in Virginia are more than enough to cover the qualification to be sheriff and he also got his certification in South Carolina after the election.
After a lower court judge ruled against Jones, the lawsuit is now going before the state Supreme Court. Jones' lawyer Charles Grose, told The Index-Journal of Greenwood the Supreme Court has expedited the case.
Stearns, a Republican, received 57 percent of the vote in the 2016 election.
Both sides said they have sent their briefs to the South Carolina Supreme Court and are ready for the justices either to rule or set a time for arguments.
Under South Carolina law , sheriffs must be at least 21 years old, a citizen of the United States, a registered voter and have a year of experience as a certified officer if they have a four-year college degree.
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