Planning for Life After a Spinal Cord Injury

If a crash left someone you love with a spinal cord injury, you may be hearing the term “structured settlement” for the first time. Here is the short answer. A structured settlement pays a claim through regular payments over time, instead of one lump sum. This page explains how that works in New Mexico and what to weigh before anyone signs.

What Is a Structured Settlement After a Spinal Cord Injury?

A structured settlement is an agreement to pay compensation in periodic payments over a set number of years or for life. The payment schedule is written into the settlement agreement, so both sides know the amounts and dates before signing.

In many cases, the at-fault party’s insurer funds the payments through an annuity. An annuity is a contract that makes the scheduled payments over time.

Spinal cord injuries often bring long-term needs. Therapy, medical equipment, and help at home can continue for years. That is why payment timing is a central question in these claims. Money that arrives over time may line up better with costs that keep coming.

Ask one question early: does the schedule cover the years ahead, or only the bills you already have? Structured settlements are not the only path. Some people take a lump sum, and some combine both. The next section compares them.

Lump Sum or Periodic Payments: What Are the Trade-Offs?

A lump sum gives you access to all of the money at once. Periodic payments spread it out, so the money arrives on a set schedule.

A lump sum offers flexibility. You can pay for a home change, adaptive equipment, or a large bill without waiting. The risk is that a large sum can run short if years of care cost more than planned.

Periodic payments offer steady income. They can ease the pressure of managing a big amount at once. The trade-off is less access to money early, which can matter when expenses come up fast.

The right choice turns on the person’s medical needs, household budget, and whether family members rely on the injured person’s income. Once a settlement agreement is signed and terms are final, they are usually hard to change. Review the schedule carefully before you sign.

Settlement talks have their own rules. New Mexico’s evidence rule generally keeps compromise offers and negotiations out of court to prove or disprove the value of a disputed claim, with listed exceptions. An early offer generally cannot be used in court to show what your claim is worth.

How Future Care Costs Shape a Spinal Cord Injury Settlement Discussion

A spinal cord injury claim often covers future care, not only bills already paid. Future costs can include rehabilitation, assistive equipment, home modifications, and lost earning capacity.

Medical records do most of the work here. Treating physicians’ notes, therapy records, and care plans show what future care may involve. Keep every discharge summary, therapy note, and equipment order in one place.

Ask your providers to explain, in writing, what they expect the next several years to look like. A common mistake is measuring the claim by the bills already paid. A structured payment schedule is one way to match settlement dollars to care that continues over time. Some families pair a schedule with a lump sum for large one-time costs, such as a home change.

How Federal Tax and Benefit Rules Can Affect Structured Payments

Tax and benefit rules can change how structured payments work, so check them before you sign. Tax questions are separate from the claim itself, and they deserve their own review.

These rules can shape how a schedule is built. Bring them into the conversation early, not after the numbers are set.

When a Prior Back Problem Complicates the Claim

Many people with spinal cord injuries had an earlier back or neck condition. Insurers may argue that the current limits existed before the crash. That makes the prior condition a central issue.

New Mexico law asks whether the crash was a cause of the injury. New Mexico’s instruction uses “cause” rather than “proximate cause”: a cause is one that contributes to bringing about the injury, and without which the injury would not have occurred, and that must be reasonably connected as a significant link to the injury. It need not be the only, last, or nearest cause (UJI 13-305 NMRA).

The jury instruction adds that a cause can work in combination with another cause. The crash must be reasonably connected as a significant link to the injury (UJI 13-305 causation).

A condition the crash made worse is a different question than one that did not change. Records from before and after the crash show that difference. Keep consistent records, and avoid gaps in care. For more on this issue, see prior back problem claims.

Coverage That May Apply After a Crash in New Mexico

If the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little, your own uninsured motorist coverage may apply. New Mexico requires motor vehicle liability policies delivered there for vehicles registered or principally garaged in New Mexico to provide this coverage for persons insured under the policy who are legally entitled to recover from owners or operators of uninsured motor vehicles (NMSA § 66-5-301). That coverage must also include underinsured motorist coverage (NMSA § 66-5-301).

A hit-and-run crash can leave the at-fault driver unidentified. Your own policy’s uninsured motorist terms may still matter in that case, so gather every policy that might apply. For a closer look, read about hit-and-run spinal cord injury claims.

Under the statute, the named insured has the right to reject uninsured motorist coverage, and on a renewal policy that coverage need not be provided after a rejection in connection with a policy previously issued by the same insurer unless the named insured requests it in writing (NMSA § 66-5-301). Which policy pays, and how much, turns on the policies involved and the facts of the crash.

Deadlines: Why Timing Matters in a Spinal Cord Injury Claim

Under NMSA § 37-1-8, a claim for an injury to the person generally must be brought within three years, but other deadlines may apply to some claims, and shorter limits can apply, for example, to claims against government entities. Other deadlines may apply to some claims, so check the timing for your situation early.

A structured settlement is usually negotiated well before a deadline. Waiting can narrow the options available. Start the conversation early, so medical records and crash evidence are gathered while they are still fresh.

How El Gringo Law Approaches Spinal Cord Injury Claims

El Gringo Law represents people hurt in car accidents, including catastrophic injuries and spinal cord injuries, in New Mexico. The firm serves communities including Santa Fe, Rio Rancho, and Las Cruces.

Josh Wood, licensed in New Mexico and Arizona, is the responsible lawyer for this page’s content. You can learn more about the firm at elgringolaw.com.

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