A federal judge in Bridgeport granted preliminary approval this week to a $72.5 million settlement in a national class-action lawsuit alleging that The Hartford fraudulently kept millions in fees that should have gone to accident victims.

The 2005 case involves plaintiffs who were injured and eligible either for personal-injury or workers'-compensation claims from The Hartford Financial Services Group. Instead of receiving a lump sum, the insurer paid "structured settlements," which are payments over time. Annuities are typically used to provide the payments, and the annuities were provided by the property-casualty insurer's life-insurance division, Hartford Life.

The Hartford told people the value of a settlement without mentioning that the company would take at least 15 percent for fees, taxes and profit, according to the lawsuit. The company disagrees.

"We are confident that every claimant received the amount that was specified in the structured settlement agreements and are settling to avoid the uncertainties and costs of continued litigation," said Thomas Hambrick, The Hartford's spokesman.

The company's first-quarter earnings report showed a one-time charge of $47 million to settle the lawsuit. Hambrick said he did not know how the company will account for the difference between the charge and the settlement amount.

The lawsuit will give each of more than 21,000 claimants about $3,300 before lawyer fees and expenses, said a spokesman for Zuckerman Spaeder LLP, the plaintiff's law firm.

"The settlement will put real money in the pockets of class members," said Zuckerman Spaeder partner partner Carl S. Kravitz.

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