How Much are Wrongful Death Settlements?

How much is a wrongful death lawsuit worth?

There is no such thing as an average settlement for a wrongful death case in Texas. Wrongful death cases can run from millions and even tens of millions or be more limited depending on the facts and the insurance available to pay. Wrongful death lawsuits can arise from many different circumstances. A person can be tragically lost when being struck by a semi-truck, medical malpractice, premises liability, or other accident. Different types of cases can have different values for the loss of a family member.

Why it happened are issues that can impact the liability portion of a wrongful death case evaluation.

Insurance issues will impact a wrongful death case value. Very seldom, in Texas, is a plaintiff able to collect more than the available insurance coverage. If all available insurance is limited, the settlement value will also likely be limited.

Every case is unique, and it is nearly impossible to get a value on a wrongful death case without knowing all the facts. Even then, the most skilled wrongful death lawyer in Houston can only give the family a range of potential settlement or verdict. When it comes down to a jury trial, there is never any crystal ball on what a jury could do. However, the best wrongful death attorneys with a wealth of experience can estimate a value for the family.

Liability considerations

The cause of death will have a significant impact on the value of a wrongful death case.

For instance, if your loved one was stopped at a red light with numerous witnesses and was struck from the rear by a drunk driver, liability will not be in much dispute. But because Texas is a comparative responsibility state, if the decedent was partly at fault, damages will be reduced.

Insurance coverage

In Texas, it is difficult to collect damages from an individual who has no money or has no insurance coverage. So the amount of insurance can impact a wrongful death claim.

A few examples:

Your family member is hit from the rear in a car accident. The negligent party had only a minimum liability policy. Unless there is other coverage, like (underinsured motorist), another defendant or the negligent driver is independently well-off, the insurance coverage will probably be all that is reasonably recoverable.

A truck accident was caused by a negligent 18-wheeler driver who lost control of the tractor-trailer, killing the innocent family member. The insurance coverage can be substantial and maybe more than one layer.

Likewise, death is caused by a dangerous and defective product that can involve deep-pocketed defendants where the collection of the judgment is not a factor.

On the other hand, Texas has capped the damages against medical providers and the result is many people are not able to get a good attorney to help them with this type of case.

Relationship with the deceased

Because a wrongful death case in Texas values the loss from the perspective of the family member suing, the relationship of the individual family member with the deceased will be assessed. Most folks don’t understand that the value of a wrongful death case is not putting a number on the life of the deceased, but rather, the amount of their own personal loss.

Wrongful death lawsuits consider individual factors for each family member involved in a lawsuit.

General family member proceeds

Typically, the value of a wrongful death claim considers the family hierarchy in valuing the claim. Each person who can file a wrongful death claim has their own personal case. Each will be valued on its own merits. Here is a general breakdown for which family member gets the most money from a jury in order verdicts and settlements in Harris, County, Texas:

• Spouses
• minor children who have lost a parent
• parents who have lost a minor child
• adult children who have lost a parent, and
• parents of an adult child