Structured Settlements Authority

How to Get Cash for a Structured Settlement

$350,000 Structured Settlement Proposed for Shooting

A sheriff's deputy's accidental shooting of a 19-year-old woman in June 2004 will cost county taxpayers more than $350,000 under the terms of a proposed structured settlement payment agreement.

Tabitha DeSousa went to a Minnehaha-area residence to use methamphetamine and ended up with two severed leg arteries and a bone shattered into 16 pieces when she was hit by a .45-caliber bullet fired by Deputy Don Slagle. He was trying to shoot DeSousa's dog.

Slagle and Deputy John O'Mara went to the house, at 5717 N.E. 45th Ave., on the evening of June 26, 2004, after a complaint that a handgun and drug paraphernalia had been spotted inside the residence, which was being sold and was supposed to be vacant.

Deputies and several witnesses said the animal charged the deputies; others said the animal was merely running to its owner. All of some nine or 10 witnesses interviewed for a sheriff's investigation said DeSousa screamed "Don't shoot my dog" and moved in some fashion, perhaps to place herself between the deputies and the dog, when she was hit.

The structured settlement agreement is on the county commissioners' Tuesday consent agenda and is related to DeSousa's injury and her claim that she was arrested without probable cause and negligently wounded. A staff report says: "These claims are disputed, but it is agreed that the injury to Ms. DeSousa was serious."

And so is the damage to taxpayers, under the terms of the structured settlement the county agreed to: Payment of $108,356.27 in medical expenses, a $150,000 cash lump sum payment, and a $100,000 structured settlement annuity with payments scheduled through Dec. 31, 2026.
Source: ColumbianNews.com Saturday, June 24, 2006

Legal Aspects of Getting Cash for a Structured Settlement