A structured settlement is a financial or insurance arrangement, including
periodic payments, that a claimant accepts to resolve a personal injury
tort claim or to compromise a statutory periodic payment obligation. Structured
settlements were first utilized in Canada and the United States during the
1970s as an alternative to lump sum settlements. Structured settlements
are now part of the statutory tort law of several common law countries including:
Australia, Canada, England and the United States. Although some uniformity
exists, each of these countries has its own definitions, rules and standards
for structured settlement. Structured settlements may include income tax
and spendthrift requirements as well as benefits. Structured settlement
payments are sometimes called “periodic payments”. A structured settlement
incorporated into a trial judgment is called a “periodic payment judgment”.