Take that many years of care, and you have an enormous number. So when a case pays out over 30 or 40 years, you have to factor that in. The prospect of future medical advances also affects life care plans, according to Strickland. A client may be struggling mightily to walk now, but in 15 or 20 years, they may have devices that make him a bionic man. He's got to be able to afford those technological advances to enhance his life.
Large verdicts can breed large settlements.
The amount of insurance coverage is especially critical in medical malpractice cases, according to Holt. But when you go against a medical provider, how much can be paid hinges directly on the amount of insurance coverage. Adjusters will often say to us that in a rural county there's never been a medmal verdict higher than so and so. Settlements like Snell show them that people across the state are not dramatically different. More sophisticated jurors.