There is no set or average amount a wrongful death suit is worth. The amount you may be able to collect in a settlement depends on a variety of factors. The influencing factors include the age of the deceased, their job, who was responsible for the death, and the type of damages the wrongful death beneficiaries suffered.
You can never prepare for a loved one passing away. But their death may truly be staggering if they died as the result of negligence. S. Burke Law understands how difficult a time this is, and how difficult the decision to file a claim is.
Economic Damages in a Wrongful Death Suit
Economic damages are a primary form of compensation S. Burke Law seeks on your behalf following a wrongful death. These are the damages that cause you direct financial losses. In most cases, economic damages are easily quantifiable because they relate to new expenses or direct financial losses. But, in some cases, they may be a projection of future losses.
Lost Wages
Lost wages are fairly straightforward to calculate in typical personal injury cases. Usually, it is just a matter of determining the time the victim missed at work and multiplying it by the victim’s salary. But wrongful death suits are not as simple because your loved one can never return to work. In a wrongful death claim, S. Burke Law will look at the following to determine the value of a wrongful death suit:
- The age and overall health of the victim at the time of death (an older person who was close to retirement will likely recover much less than a person who died at age 40)
- The victim’s earning potential, including education, personal accomplishments, and current career (a CEO will likely earn more over time than a teacher)
- The victim’s character and overall intelligence
- The parental status of the deceased. If the deceased had surviving children, this factors in as well.
Ultimately, the amount the next of kin or estate receives for lost wages depends on how much the family depended on the deceased financially, and how much the person would have contributed in the future.
In this case, we can discuss your case with economic experts to determine how much your loved one would have made over time with inflation, as well as what they missed out on in regard to bonuses, promotions, pensions, and other benefits.
Medical Bills
Medical bills vary depending on the circumstances of the accident. For example, if your loved one had an extended stay at the hospital following an accident, then the responsible party may owe you significantly more in medical expenses than if your loved one died shortly after the accident. Medical expenses our firm seeks on your behalf may include:
- Ambulance costs
- Hospital stay fees
- Costs for emergency medical attention
- Specialist fees
- Surgeries
- Medication
Funeral Expenses
Funeral expenses are probably the most straightforward of the economic damages S. Burke Law seeks on your behalf. While funerals are expensive affairs, if you receive an award for a wrongful death, the cost of the event is typically part of the damages.
Noneconomic Damages in Wrongful Death Lawsuits
What you can recover depends on who the deceased was to you. For example, spouses may be entitled to loss of consortium and companionship benefits and the loss of a parent-child relationship. You might be able to collect pain and suffering on behalf of your loved one as well.
Compensation on Behalf of Your Loved One
You might be able to collect pain and suffering on behalf of your loved one as well.
For example, if your loved one spent a significant amount of time in the hospital as your family sought treatment for their injuries, they likely experienced significant discomfort throughout that process. In such cases, we might allege that experienced considerable pain and suffering before death.
Call an Atlanta Wrongful Death Attorney
While the life of a loved one cannot be quantified into dollars—and there is no set amount for how much a wrongful death suit is worth—collecting a wrongful death settlement is often one of the first steps in picking up the pieces after an accident. If you or someone you care about recently suffered a loss in the family, we encourage you to call S. Burke Law. Call us at 404-842-7838 for your free consultation today.