NSSTA Structured Settlement Stories

NSSTA is proud to report a major new federal regulatory development now establishes the ability to receive a structured settlement without jeopardizing housing assistance provided by the federal government.  In 2019, John McCulloch with IFS led the effort with NSSTA and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) to encourage the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to add new income exclusion language to the “Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act.” 

NSSTA was selected to present to the South Carolina Judiciary about structured settlements and structured settlement factoring. 

Susan Stauss with Cozen O’Connor, Sandy Jones with Faegre Drinker, and John McCulloch with IFS represented the National Structured Settlements Trade Association(NSSTA) to provide information about the history and benefits of structured settlements for injury victims and their families. 

A person may be injured in the line of work and file a lawsuit for compensation, which can be given as a lump sum or a structured settlement. A structured settlement is whereby the affected person gets a steady amount of payments for some time. This is the best-preferred method, but it also comes with some setbacks, especially when the person needs a large amount of money to offset medical bills or buy a house. That is where a third-party company, mostly called “factoring companies”, comes into place to help.

In 1973, my daughter was born with brain damage, which I believe was the result of medical malpractice. Although my daughter is mentally alert, she is physically handicapped and unable to speak clearly. My former husband and I initiated a malpractice lawsuit which, in 1980, produced a financial settlement that went into a protected account. Unfortunately, my husband took this money and invested it in his construction company which went bankrupt a few years later. The money for our daughter was gone and soon my husband filed for divorce. I received no child support.

In 2000, our son was the victim of an injury at birth. For the rest of his life, he will require medical and rehabilitative care. Right before our malpractice trial our family accepted a financial settlement that included a structured settlement. For us, the key advantage of this structured settlement is the peace of mind knowing that our son is guaranteed to have income to meet his needs for his entire life. As long as my husband and I are on this earth, we'll take care of our son.