There are no meaningful average settlement figures for wrongful death lawsuits, as the amount of money you’re eligible to receive depends on the details of your case. Each case has different circumstances, losses, and expenses. Any value calculated based on another case would likely be misleading because it would not accurately reflect your loved one’s fatal accident or the cost to your family because of it.
One way to seek appropriate compensation based on your loved one’s death is to work with a wrongful death lawyer. They will document your recoverable damages and value the case to ensure you know what an appropriate settlement will look like.
- How Do You Calculate a Wrongful Death Settlement?
- What Types of Recoverable Damages Are Available in a New York Wrongful Death Case?
- Who Files Wrongful Death Cases in New York?
- How Do You Prove a Wrongful Death Case?
- Talk to an Attorney About Your Options for Free Today
How Do You Calculate a Wrongful Death Settlement?
Many wrongful death cases end in a negotiated settlement. Understanding how much your case might be worth is necessary to ensure you know when to accept an offer and when to keep negotiating. This makes calculating a wrongful death settlement vital for getting an appropriate payout in your case.
Determining how much the case is worth requires several steps. These include:
- Identifying the types of recoverable damages that are applicable to the case
- Documenting the damages suffered
- Working with expert witnesses as needed to understand the value of your damages
- Assigning a value to non-economic damages, such as the pain and suffering your loved one experienced before their death
- Calculating the total value of each damage type
Some of these steps are more straightforward than others. For example, gathering medical bills related to your loved one’s treatment of their fatal injuries might be a relatively brief process. This is especially true if you already collected them in a folder or gathered related paperwork in another convenient place. However, valuing your loved one’s pain and suffering is more complicated.
If you work with an attorney on your case, they will calculate the value of your case for you. It makes this process much less frustrating and time-consuming for family members hoping to recover compensation and regain financial stability through a wrongful death case.
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What Types of Recoverable Damages Are Available in a New York Wrongful Death Case?
Before you try to calculate a possible settlement value for your case, you must understand the types of damages recoverable in New York wrongful death lawsuits. Types of wrongful death damages often include:
- Medical bills for your loved one’s injuries and treatment
- Any funeral, burial, or cremation expenses
- Loss of the decedent’s financial support
- Lost inheritance for your loved one’s surviving dependents
- Conscious pain and suffering the victim endured before their death
Note that New York does not allow family members to seek compensation for their own non-economic damages, such as the emotional distress caused by losing their loved one.
If you choose to work with one, your attorney will identify and document your recoverable damages and discuss any types of damages available not listed here.
Who Files Wrongful Death Cases in New York?
New York law only allows a victim’s personal representative to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Under Estates, Powers, & Trusts § 5-4.1, the personal representative files wrongful death actions, and the victim’s dependents benefit from the proceeds. To this end, the executor of the will serves as the plaintiff and distributes any money recovered according to the will or another estate plan.
If your loved one died without a will, the Surrogate’s Court assigns a personal representative, and the compensation recovered, if any, will go to family members according to New York’s intestate laws. These laws determine estate distribution any time someone dies without a will.
If you are unsure who should represent your family in your wrongful death case, inform the attorney during your free initial consultation. They will ask questions and discuss the case with you to identify the correct party or your next steps.
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How Do You Prove a Wrongful Death Case?
The only way to recover compensation in a wrongful death case is to show:
- The at-fault party’s careless, reckless, or intentional act caused your loved one’s injuries; and
- They died from those injuries
You are entitled to pursue a wrongful death case if you have evidence that another party caused the accident or incident in question. Many circumstances support these claims and lawsuits. This includes:
- Traffic accidents
- Truck accidents
- Bicycle and pedestrian accidents
- Construction accidents
- Workplace injuries
- Dog bites
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home abuse
- Slip and falls
- Elevator and escalator incidents
- Deck and balcony collapses
- Fires
- Negligent security
- Assault and other criminal acts
An Attorney Will Handle All the Tasks Necessary to Build Your Wrongful Death Case
Gathering evidence to show what happened and the damages you suffered is essential to winning your case and holding the at-fault party accountable. If you work with an attorney, they will handle your case and manage this process for you. Additionally, they will:
- Keep you updated on your case
- Identify liable parties
- Communicate with all parties for you
- Gather evidence
- Determine a value for your case
- Fight relentlessly to win the best possible case result for you
Wrongful death attorneys generally work on a contingency-fee basis. They do not charge families upfront for their services. Instead, they receive a portion of the case payout. There are no attorney’s fees if they do not recover compensation for their clients.
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Talk to an Attorney About Your Options for Free Today
The compassionate wrongful death attorneys at Friedman & Simon, L.L.P. extend our condolences on the loss of your loved one. We are passionate advocates for the injured, including those who lost their lives to their injuries.
Our team will meet with you on Long Island or elsewhere in the New York metropolitan area. We also have a multilingual staff who will assist you in Spanish, Greek, Bengali, Tamil, or Kannada. Call us for your free initial case consultation.
Call or text 516-932-0400 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form