Do I get less settlement money for having a mental illness?

What is the nature of your mental illness?

It all depends upon the facts of your case; you need to consult an attorney.

Don't know. How does the mental illness impact on the injury? Unless it does there should be no change. See a lawyer.

I assume you have an attorney to talk to about this. If you don't you are probably getting short changed by quite a bit, regardless of the mental health issue. As far as the mental health issue, you just say they were going to offer you $70,000. You don't say if there is a new offer that is lower or if they have just taken the $70K off the table without explanation, etc. That's why, you really need to speak with your own attorney about this who knows the details of the claim and the offer.

There is a legal doctrine referred to as the "eggshell skull plaintiff" and essentially the eggshell skull rule (or thin skull rule or you take your victim as you find him rule of the common law) is a well-established legal doctrine in which the defendant is held liable for the injury caused to the plaintiff regardless of the initial condition of the plaintiff. So you are correct in that the insurance company should not deduct any from the settlement offer because of your condition. If the offer was made and accepted, then you should have a binding agreement. You may wish to speak to an attorney to determine your best course of action - most personal injury attorneys will provide a free initial consultation. You have two years from the date of the accident in which to file a negligence claim in Colorado under the statute of limitations, you must file within two years or lose your right to do so.

In a personal injury lawsuit comparative fault can reduce the amount of damages that the Plaintiff can recover from the Defendant.The argument is that the Plaintiff shares some of the fault for his injury. It appears that the Defense Attorney believes that your mental illness was part of the reason that you fell on the ice. While an attorney can make a comparative fault argument, he has to prove that the Plaintiff was partially at fault. Your attorney will argue that you are not at fault for your injury. The discovery process will reveal if there is a good argument for comparative fault.

Having a mental illness, by itself, should not lower the amount of a settlement. However, depending on the mental illness it can lower the amount of a settlement offer if it has an effect on the cause/ fault for the fall, your injuries or damages. For example, a person suffering from significant depression may receive a lower settlement offer as it could be difficult to differentiate the symptoms of depression from "pain and suffering" associated from injuries sustained in a fall. However, the law also says they have to take you as they find you so if your doctors can differentiate pre-existing depression from "pain and suffering" caused by fall-related injuries or if the fall aggravated the depression, the store (or its insurance company) is still responsible. If the mental illness is one that does not affect any of these items, then it should not provide a basis to rescind or lower an offer. It is not "discrimination" if the store (or its insurance company) lowers a settlement offer based on a mental illness if the mental illness has an effect either on the cause of your fall, your injuries and damages. Even if the mental illness does not affect any of these items, I am unaware of any laws regarding discrimination that would apply to this type of situation that would require the store (or its insurance company) to restore its $70,000.00 offer to you. I therefore would not call it "discrimination" in a legal sense. It may not be right for the offer to be lowered, but I do not believe you could make a claim against the store (or its insurance company) just for lowering its offer based on you having a mental illness. I am sure the store (or its insurance company) could come up with a justification for lowering its offers for a reason other than you just having a mental illness; they could probably offer a justification as to why the mental illness affects the value of your case. You should consider talking to an attorney to discuss the situation. There may be reasons for why the offer was lowered once they learned of your mental illness. Most personal injury attorneys offer a free initial consultation so it would not cost you anything to learn more about your rights. DISCLAIMER: This response should be considered general in nature, for information purposes only and should be used only as a starting point for addressing legal questions and issues. It is based on the limited information provided and, in some instances, makes certain assumptions. It is intended only for cases involving Nebraska and Nebraska law and is not applicable to any other state or jurisdiction. The author does not warrant the accuracy or validity of the information contained within this response, and hereby disclaims any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions. In addition, this response is not a substitute for professional legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship, nor should it be considered a solicitation for additional legal advice or legal representation. If you ignore this warning and convey confidential information in a private message or comment, there is no duty to keep that information confidential or forego representation adverse to your interests. You should seek the advice of a licensed attorney in the appropriate jurisdiction to fully discuss your case. You should be aware that there are Statute of Limitations (the deadline imposed by law within which you may bring a lawsuit) as well as other requirements and/or limitations that limit the time you have to file any potential claims you may have. This response may be considered advertising in some jurisdictions under any and all applicable laws and ethical rules. The listing of any area of practice that the author practices in does not indicate any certification or expertise therein, nor does it represent that the quality of legal services to be performed would be greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.

Obviously, they thought that your claimed "head injury" was caused by the accident when they made the offer. Then, when they realized that you had the condition before you fell, they pulled it back. No, it is not discrimination. It is common sense. If you had a lawyer working the file for you, perhaps the case would have gotten settled before the information became known. If you snooze, you lose.

Numerous factors can affect the insurance company's assessment of what your case is worth. There may be some reason to believe jury might award you less money because of your mental illness. One issue may be their assessment of future lost wages. They might think that your future earning capacity was already limited due to you mental illness. Another possibility is that the mental illness might affect you ability to recall events, thus affecting your credibility as a witness.

An insurance company may withdraw their offer at any time IF you did not accept the offer OR have not responded to the offer. They can withdraw any offer for any reason . . . EVEN if they find out you were left-handed -or- liked the Boston Red Sox or that you drove a Ford Pickup. Did you ACCEPT this $70,000 offer when they gave it to you? Did you wait a long time to respond? This is NOT "discrimination." Good luck.

No, it's not discrimination. But I don't think your case is worth any less just because of a mental illness.

No it isn't recrimination. It goes to the issue of liability. Are you on medication? Were you taking your medication? Did you take the necessary precautions in light of your condition? It may have nothing to do with why you fell, but it can be raised. You should contact a competent personal injury attorney.

No, you should not. The settlement demand should be evaluated and based on your injuries and damages sustained from the accident and not any preexisting mental condition. You should retain an accident or personal injury attorney to represent you if you don't already have one.

Insurance company is merely making an evaluation that a jury is less likely to conclude that you fell b/c of a dangerous condition that they either knew about or should have known about based on their discovering you have a mental illness. Without knowing facts of fall its difficult to respond to question but other issue is they may think they can establish a > degree of comparative negligence based on your mental illness. Comparative negligence is not exercising reasonable care for your own safety. Would think mental illness would decrease comparatve, but in evaluating and negotiating settlements insurance companies can offer whatever they wish. It's all part of their evaluation of risk.

Impossible to say depending on your injuries. Assuming you are claim a TBA, mental illness might reflect on your claim and on the cause of your claim.

While it may seem something like discrimination, it is actually an insurance company evaluating all aspects of the case and changing their mind about the value of a case once they discovered that you had a mental problem. First, that problem could have contributed to the injury in some fashion, which could be considered as contributory negligence, meaning you may have somehow contributed to the accident itself or exacerbated the injury due to your illness. Second, they may be thinking of how your illness may adversely affect your ability to be an acceptable witness in front of a jury and they may feel like they will be able to undermine your testimony if you suffer from certain types of mental maladies. Both of these alternatives mean the insurance company values your claim less than that of a person who does not suffer from your condition and that value is reflected within their reduced offer. Good luck.

I cannot give firm advise on the facts provided. At LEAST consult with an attorney before you settle.

It's their choice. They can give you 70k or 0. Only a jury can decide exactly what they owe you and the jury can consider your mental state, although I don't see why that would impact a slip and fall case.

Yes, it is discrimination. Unfortunately, they can probably get away with it. You probably have a lot of experience at being discriminated against. Their thinking is that no one will believe you, so the probability of your success against them should the case go to trial is less than it would be if you did not have a mental illness.

This is an unusual question. What is the mental illness? I do not know why an offer would withdrawn for a settlement because of a mental illness unless it was somehow determined that in effect you a pre-existing illness and you claimed the illness caused the fall. An other alternative could be that due to your mental illness you imagined the fall. You should visit with an attorney to discuss the specifics. Slip and fall cases can be difficult to try because of available defenses such as comparative negligence and assumption of risk so that might factor into a withdrawal of an offer to settle.

Mental illness is not an offset against a recovery unless is caused or contributed to the accident. The only offset is your amount of negligence.

That does not make any sense to me. If you have in writing that the other side was offering to settle for $70,000 and you accepted that offer, you should be able to enforce that agreement. You would be wise to consult with a personal injury attorney in your area.

Without knowing more about your case, the best answer is it depends. It depends on the kind of mental illness you have and the injury you suffered - whether they could be related; and how you got injured or what you could have done to cause or avoid it, and so on. That said, if your mental illness is totally, 100% irrelevant to your injury, I don't see how it is relevant to your settlement either. Apparently the defendant(s) see a connection. Get a better grip on what that connection is and it will help you plan how to proceed.

There are many things that may affect a settlement offer. A mental illness on its own usually does not mean a lower settlement amount. Without knowing the particulars of your case, it is difficult to say why the settlement offer went down or was taken off the table. If you have an attorney, consult with him/her to get a better understanding. If you do not have an attorney, you should consult with one immediately about the particulars of your situation.

In my opinion that would not be discrimination, but rather their assessment that the emotional distress you suffered from the fall was only exacerbated by the incident, not created by it. Thus, their willingness to pay less is somewhat justified.

Their arguement goes something like your illness was a contributory cause of your accident.

Unless the defendants can clearly prove that your illness caused or substantially contributed to the fall, then I doubt they are doing nothing more than using ethically borderline tactics to try to scare you and/or mislead you in to a less favorable settlement or compromise.

The presence of a mental illness could affect the value of a case. Speak with an attorney as soon as you can. Having an attorney represent you in a case like this will make sure your rights are protected.