What Is the Average Wrongful Death Settlement?

Figuring out the value of a claim is the first thing families will need to deal with during a claim of wrongful death. Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple answer when it comes to the question of how much a family would receive for a wrongful death claim.

A widely cited private analysis puts the average settlement around $973,000, with a median closer to $295,000, but the underlying data isn’t public or independently verified. This disparity results from a few big cases that push up the average, making average settlement amounts unreliable for predicting an actual case result.

People who are curious to learn the average wrongful death settlements in the state where they live must first understand the rules and factors affecting these amounts.

What Actually Drives the Number

There is always the same basic structure of the elements of wrongful death damage award, but specific rules of calculation will differ in various states. Economic damages involve the financial losses caused by the death, including medical expenses incurred before death and the costs of funeral and burial. Income that was lost as a result of the death is another contributing factor that affects how much settlement will be awarded to the family of a wrongful death victim.

Non-economic damages cover losses that are difficult to quantify. These forms of damages cannot be measured using receipts. These losses relate mainly to the loss of companionship, guidance, and support the surviving family had.

There are some special circumstances about the case that have the biggest influence on the calculation. The age of the deceased and his/her earning potential are very important. A younger person who could potentially earn money for decades to come causes greater damage in comparison with the older one who was close to retirement. 

The number of dependents can also affect the calculation, as more people who were dependent on the deceased’s income and support make the claim bigger. It is important to note that the level of evidence regarding the fault of the defendant influences the calculation too.

How State Law Reshapes the Calculation

The same underlying facts can produce meaningfully different outcomes depending on which state’s law applies since states differ in how they define compensable loss and who is allowed to recover it.

Georgia is an exception that does not follow the usual procedure in such cases. Instead of allowing survivors to recover only for the amount of their loss due to death, Georgia law determines the value of the claim in terms of the total worth of the deceased person’s life. This full-value approach includes the worth of the life itself beyond any monetary contribution. This broader valuation standard is important when there is a case where the deceased is a homemaker or a retiree. An Atlanta wrongful death lawyer covers how that full-value standard is applied in Georgia wrongful death claims.

In California, benefits are more straightforward. Instead of a broad estimate of what the victim’s life itself was worth, surviving family members can collect their documented losses. These losses include, but are not limited, to lost financial support, funeral-related expenses, and the value of lost companionship and guidance. Comparative negligence rules in California can also reduce a settlement when the deceased or another party shares some fault for the incident.

Why Published Averages Rarely Predict a Specific Case

Online settlement calculators and averages found on other websites may be helpful in providing an estimate, but there is no way to incorporate into such an estimate the real factors that drive a number higher or lower.

A case involving a young person who was a parent and had several dependent children and where liability is clear will almost certainly be worth much more than the average, whereas a case where fault or insurance coverage is disputed will be valued much less.

The Bottom Line

No dollar amount exists to determine the value of a wrongful death suit. Assuming that the national average or median will be a reasonable prediction for a particular case is normally inaccurate. The types of damages remain consistent throughout the country, but how these damages are calculated and capped is determined state by state. This difference explains why even the same circumstances can produce a very different outcome based upon where the case is brought.