Making Changes To Your Life

Know The Factors That Determine How Much A Wrongful Death Settlement Will Be Worth

by Kristin Hawkins

Dealing with a wrongful death in your family can be a very devastating and traumatic experience to go through. If you need to file a wrongful death lawsuit, it means that the accident that happened was so severe that your loved one ended up passing away as a result. While you're able to recover compensation for your pain and suffering to go through this experience, you may be wondering what factors will end up determining how much you receive in a lawsuit. Here is what you need to know about the worth of your settlement.

The Time Between The Accident And Death

One factor that will be considered is the amount of pain and suffering you and your loved one went through due to the length of the whole experience. It is possible that the wrongful death was a long and drawn-out process, where your loved one spent a lot of time in the hospital in pain while there was still hope that they could recover. Going through a long period of this type of trauma will result in more compensation for a wrongful death. Your life will be interrupted during this entire time, and if this extends for months, it will lead to a higher settlement.

The Age Of Your Loved One

Compensation will also be based on how old a loved one is at the time of their death. If they were relatively young, the accident will have resulted in that person missing out on the majority of their life, which will cause compensation to be higher. The exact opposite is true, where an elderly person that dies from an accident will receive less compensation from the accident since they are approaching the end of their life. It may not seem fair to know that an elderly person's death is worth less compensation, but it is how settlements are factored in the courtroom.

The Relationship With You

You will be filing a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of a loved one that passed away. However, the relationship that you have with that loved one will determine the amount of compensation that you receive. If the wrongful death lawsuit is for the unexpected death of a spouse, you could be entitled to more compensation than usual because of how close this person is to you. You will have lost companionship with your lifelong partner, which is seen as something that is valued highly. If your lawsuit is for the wrongful death of a sibling, the court may look at that relationship and value it as one that is not as close as your spouse or child.

Contact a wrongful death attorney near you to learn more.

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