Many have been wondering when the Wendy Davis campaign would release the real dirt on Greg Abbott. While she detailed the Republican culture of corruption in Austin a few days ago, she did not hit Greg Abbott appropriately hard.
Greg Abbott: I got mine. You won’t get what’s due you.
In 1984 Greg Abbott had no health insurance and no job. He was a law school student. And he apparently along with his lawyer used the law very well to become quite wealthy from his injury.
According to the Texas Tribune who had a copy of Greg Abbott vs Roy W. Moore ET AL, General Release and Indemnity Agreement, he did better than anyone could in similar circumstances today.
This year, 29 years after the accident, Abbott receives about $14,400 a month. On Nov. 1, that figure will go up by about $500. On that same date, he’ll also get a $400,000 lump sum payment. All told this year, Abbott can expect to receive about $570,000 from the structured settlement, whose proceeds are tax-free and do not have to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service. Tax-free annuities are common in lawsuit settlements. …
All told, by the end of 2013, Abbott will have received $5.8 million in both lump-sum payments and monthly income.
The total amount of the payouts won’t be known until Abbott’s death. Though the lump sum payments eventually cease, under the terms of the agreement, he receives the monthly income as long as he’s alive. If Abbott lives through 2022, when he will turn 65, he will have received another $3.5 million. That would push the total value of his settlement past $9 million, or about $11 million using inflation-adjusted dollars.
What is ironic is that while Greg Abbott got his windfall for his injury, he is a strong supporter of tort reform which would deny others with similar injuries the relief he got. Attorney Mark Bellow says it best in his post “Greg Abbott: Tort Reform Hypocrite.”
Abbott would probably agree that no money could ever compensate him for his injuries. He would most likely give back all the money if he could walk again. Yet, he denies others the rights he was afforded. He launched an effort to strike down the Americans with Disabilities Act because it was “unconstitutional.” Fortunately, he lost. The “innocent victim” Greg Abbott continues to enjoy the benefits of an $11 million settlement while the “politician” Greg Abbott fights against the rights of others victims by denying them the same rights afforded him.
It is wonderful that the Wendy Davis campaign got this ad out. It is long overdue. Americans have to be informed several times before messages and narrative are associated with reality (fallacies in the case of Republican messages).