When a person's death is caused by the negligent act of another person, the surviving family members of the deceased person may have available a wrongful death claim. It represents, simply, a legal right to be compensated by the person-at-fault for the decedent's death. The reality today is that the monetary compensation is paid not by the person-at-fault but a liability insurer which insures the liability of that person.
Of course, the monetary compensation is not intended to represent the value of human life. That is impossible to calculate. Instead, wrongful death compensation can be viewed as similar to ordinary life insurance, payable to the decedent's survivors. Some people have alot of it, some people have none of it.
The specific amount of monetary compensation in a wrongful death claim is not representative of the value of a decedent's life, or the importance of that person to the surviving family members. The specific amount of wrongful death proceeds will depend upon such factors as the decedent's recent annual income, future earning capacity, dependency of others, pain and suffering prior to death, age, and the certainty of liability of the person allegedly at fault for the event causing the decedent's loss of life. Those factors, together with the amount or limit of the available liability insurance, drive or determine the value of a wrongful death claim.
Recovering monetary compensation for a wrongful death claim is a complicated task. It should be assigned only to a skillful, experienced attorney who is a seasoned personal injury specialist. It requires specialized skills to value the claim, identify properly all available sources of insurance proceeds, and conduct the delicate negotiations necessary to obtain payment of the proceeds. An arrangement must be made to distribute the settlement proceeds in accordance with applicable law, and only an attorney has the knowledge to understand and apply the law to the specific conditions of the case.
Probate proceedings must be commenced to obtain the appointment of a personal representative for the decedent's estate. That is the only person authorized by statute to pursue a wrongful death claim, and that individual acts in a fiduciary capacity for the best interests of all family members. An attorney has the skills and experience to orchestrate the relations within the family to avoid, hopefully, any bitterness or disharmony resulting from the distribution of the proceeds.
Experienced attorneys who handle wrongful death claims are paid for their services on a contingency fee basis. Simply explained, unless monetary compensation is recovered through pursuit of the wrongful death claim, the attorney receives no fee. If monetary compensation is recovered, the standard fee is one third (1/3) of the amount recovered. An attorney also is reimbursed for extraordinary expenses incurred for the investigation and development of the wrongful death claim, but only if monetary compensation is recovered.
The contingency fee system is sacred to dedicated committed personal injury lawyers. Their livelihood is representing people seeking monetary compensation for injuries, disabilities, and death. Often, the effort does not result in the recovery of any compensation, and the attorney receives no fee despite many hours of service devoted to the case. Conversely, an attorney may expend only a few hours on a case and receive a substantial fee. A personal injury lawyer, however, is not paid for his time. The fee represents the value of the service provided by the attorney, and a valid measurement of that value is one third (1/3) of the total amount recovered for the client.
