Legal Question in Workers Comp in North Carolina
present value
I was injured on oct 3rd 2000 on my second week on the job at a chemical plant.I was a chemical mixer and somehow i got some Caustic potash 45% on me. I am in the middle of settling my claim right now. I'm happy with my disability settlement however my occupational therapist informed me I'm going to have to were presure stockings for the rest of my life on the burn. I looked at the NC Industrial commissions web site and found at my age(30) I will need compensation for 47.5 yrs for the stockings. The inurance company wants to clench the case and give me a lump sum for the stockings and the disability. They keep throwing out the term ''present value''to explain the price they wil provide for the stockings My question is what is ''present Value '' and how do the come up with that number? It seems very low according to my calculations
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: present value
Present payment of a future liability requires discounting the amount for inflation. The value of a dollar 10 years from now is less than the value today. Ask the insurance how many stockings they are allowing per year and what percentage they are using to discount for present payment.