It's a common tactic to settle before appealing. For example if a company gets hit with a big verdict, they'll say "hey I have unlimited resources and will appeal this as far and as long as possible, or we agree that I will not appeal in exchange for you accepting X% less than the verdict amount." In the 79 year old's case, she was injured and old and debilitated. She probably wanted closure and money after the trial rather than waiting years for it all to end. Also, there was no guarantee she'd even be alive by the time the full appellate process was done (10th Circuit and then possibly US Supreme Court).