Comp Settlement

Just had a nephew go through a year of compensation hearings, he was hurt on a drilling rig and ripped his rotator cups, he can not do this type of work anymore so he is going through the office of vocational rehabilitation to get retrained in another field that won't be as laborous and won't affect his injury. He was initially promised around $80,000, when it was all said and done he got $40,000 and the attorney took 33% of that. He settled out last week and is moving on with his life. I am curious as to how a settlement is chopped up like this, this don't even cover his wages for the year. The wage and the availability of overtime he would have worked which they could have verified through his wage record would have been over $45,000. It is all done now, the paperwork signed and I am sure the check is on it's way. I am just curious about how they can chop it up, where you end up with half of the initial offer, makes you wonder, should you jump at the first offer and let it go.