Aug. 28, 2003

Value of Settlement Cash Can Be Increased in Various Ways

Focus Column - Alternative Dispute Resolution - By Jeffrey Krivis - When Congress decided to include, as gross income, settlements made for "nonphysical" injury torts, it reduced the value of such settlements by up to 45 percent. This has been particularly devastating in employment cases, where emotional-distress recoveries often helped the employee transition into a new employment situation.