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66 A.B.A. J 734 (1980)
Periodic Payments of Bodily Injury Awards

handle is hein.journals/abaj66 and id is 735 raw text is: By Roger C. Henderson. THE COMMON law system of awarding damages in bodily injury cases is famil- iar-the lump-sum payment. The trier of fact mus' determine at the time of trial all damages, past and future, owing to a clainant. Perhaps this sys- tem is the only one the courts could realistically administer when the law regarding damages in bodily injury cases developed. Yet it-is not free from problems. One of the more serious problems is the lack of information needed to assess the damages accu- rately at the time of the trial. A number of things are relatively un- certain at the time of trial in serious in- jury cases. Even with the passage of time, we may never know what the claimant would have been like without injury. On the other hand, time will re- veal what the seriously injured claim- ant will be like in the future. We shall also know answers to other questions, such as the state of the economy which now looms as a serious question for the trier of fact in fixing large damage awards for losses that will accrue far into the future. Although uncertainties affecting damage awards are a major concem, other equally important matiers have developed that call for re-examination of how large awards of future damages in bodily injury cases are calculated and paid. First, half-million and mul- timillion dollar awards have become so frequent in the last few years that they no longer represent the exceptional case. They have a great impact on the availability and affordability of bodily injury liability insurance. The most acute problems have been experienced in the areas of products liability and medical malpractice, which have given rise to some of the most serious injury cases. Second, the income tax laws make it to the benefit of claimants, and even their attorneys, to think about al- ternatives to the present system. Payment of damages as they accrue in the future can provide substantial tax say- ings. Third, improvident dispos.ion of VC large lump-sum awards by successful claimants is not a matter that should be ignored any longer. l 2ause of the availability and affordability problems in bodily injury liability insurance markets and other factors, a number of states have adopted legislation, mainly in the field of prod- ucts liability, that permits judgments for damages for bodily injury to be paid in periodic installments rather than in a lump sum. In the main, this legislation has not been thorough and has created more problems than it solves. The prob- lems not only affect litigants living in the adopting states, but, because of the national and international nature of products liability litigation, citizens and businesses throughout the United States In 1977 the National - h Per Bodil y

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