Injured Worker Settles With Worker's Compensation Carrier for Structured Settlement With Expected Payout of Over $5 Million

On March 26, 2018, the Workers Compensation Commissioner in Waterbury approved a stipulated agreement between Schley Hunter and his employer's worker's compensation insurance carrier in settlement of Mr. Hunter's worker's compensation with an expected payout of $5,494,902. The compensation claim arose out of a motor vehicle collision that occurred on April 22, 2016. At the time of the collision, Mr. Hunter, who was then 42 years old, was riding as a passenger in a Hino box truck owned by his employer and being driven by his fellow employee at approximately 4 a.m. on Route 8. They had been working since the night before and were returning to their employer's place of business when the driver fell asleep, veered to the right, struck a large rock wall, veered back into the roadway and rolled onto its side. When the truck came to rest, the truck was blocking the northbound lanes of traffic and the underside of the truck was facing oncoming traffic.

A short time later, while Schley Hunter was still in the cab of the Hino box truck trying to help his fellow employee exit the vehicle, a tractor trailer traveling in the northbound lanes crashed into the underside of the Hino Box truck propelling the truck over 50 feet down the road and destroying both vehicles. As a result of these collisions, Mr. Hunter suffered several fractures to his cervical spinal column with injury to the cervical spinal cord which has resulted in quadriplegia. Despite months of intense rehabilitation, Mr. Hunter remains paralyzed and will probably be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

The third party liability cases against the two drivers were settled for policy limits. The plaintiff then entered into a stipulated structured settlement with the worker's compensation carrier which includes an up-front payment and monthly payments to Mr. Hunter for the rest of his life, as well payments into a Medicare Set-aside plan for next 21 years which developed for him and approved by the Center for Medicaid Services. The future payments to Mr. Hunter are guaranteed for 30 years.