Did you know that more than 250,000 people die in the U.S. from medical errors each year?
If you have recently experienced this difficult and tragic situation and are wondering how much a wrongful death lawsuit payout might be, you are in the right place. We have put together this short guide to give you an idea of what a wrongful death settlement might be.
Keep reading to learn more about what you can expect.
Recovery Amount
We want to start out by saying that putting a dollar value on another person’s life is extremely difficult. This is why there are many factors that affect a wrongful death lawsuit. Some of the factors include the victim’s health, age, and earning capacity at the time of death.
For example, if the victim was supporting children or their spouse when they died, the settlement amount tends to be higher because these factors are taken into account.
Because no two cases are ever alike, some cases might pay out a couple thousand while others pay millions of dollars. You can read a little more info here to get an even better idea.
A tragic event that happened to a 13-year-old girl is an example of someone that was awarded millions for their loss. She was awarded $150 million because she witnessed her entire family die in a car accident.
Factors That Might Reduce the Amount
In some cases, people receive less than expected because they might have contributed to their own accident or death. For example, if your loved one was riding their bicycle and did not do the proper hand turning signals and someone hit them, this factor can count against the lawsuit.
The person that hit them can fight in court that they did not use the proper signals and therefore they did not know that they were going to stop. In those types of cases, the settlement might be half the amount because your loved one might be found guilty of being 50% at fault.
Another factor that affects the amount of the settlement is not hiring an attorney that is experienced in wrongful death lawsuits. These types of lawsuits are a whole other ball game in the legal world and require experience from a professional.
One last factor worth mentioning that will lower your settlement is waiting too long. At the moment, you are probably going through many difficult emotions and therefore a lawsuit is the last thing on your mind. The problem is that in some states there is a time frame to file a wrongful death lawsuit, and if you wait too long, you will not receive money for your case.
Feeling More Knowledgeable About a Wrongful Death Lawsuit Payout?
Although you are going through such a difficult time, we hope that this blog post gave you a better idea of what you can expect from a wrongful death lawsuit payout.
Feel free to keep browsing our legal section for other helpful articles.
