Wrongful death
Wrongful death
Tell us what happened and where. Nothing here is legal advice, and nothing on this page predicts what any case is worth.
What is involved in a wrongful death claim?
Who may bring it, what the circumstances were, and what the family has lost. That last part covers more than funeral costs: it can include the income and the care the person provided. Your relationship to them matters, because who is entitled to bring a claim is set by each state and is not the same everywhere. This is a conversation to have with an attorney licensed where it happened, not a form to fill in quickly.
One reported example: $9,500,000 — Civil settlement with the family of a store manager fatally shot during a police pursuit
Capture the scene and your recovery
Keep the death certificate, the medical records and any report from an investigating authority. Note who depended on the person and how, which is a large part of what these claims consider. There is no hurry to write anything painful at once.
Record what you know without guessing at fault. If you are unsure about something, write down that you are unsure — that is more useful later than a confident guess, and nobody expects you to have a complete account.
What tends to decide cases like this
Who may bring a claim, and within what period, is set by the law of the state and is not the same everywhere. The practical records are the death certificate, the medical notes and any investigation report. Note who depended on the person financially and in daily life, which is a large part of what these claims consider.
What can affect a claim like this
The evidence, the law that applies where it happened, the deadlines that apply to that kind of claim, and the circumstances all matter. Someone else’s result does not determine yours, and no figure on this site is a prediction for any case.
An attorney looks at how serious the injury is and how clearly it is documented, what care has been needed, whether the effects are expected to last, what income has been lost, who was responsible and what evidence shows it. Where responsibility is shared, how that is treated differs from state to state.
How to start
Choose wrongful death in the form, add the state and city where it happened, and tell us how to reach you. It takes about a minute, nothing is sent until you press send, and you can stop at any point. Find A Tough Lawyer is a legal media and lead-generation service, not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice.
Check your case factors — five questions, nothing sent
Can these settlements predict my result?
No. Any figure below is one case, reported by the source named beneath it. They are other people’s cases — not our results, not typical, and not a prediction for anyone else. What a particular claim is worth depends on the evidence, responsibility, treatment, losses, future needs, insurance and the law of that state.
Published settlement context
Bright Siaw Afriyie — claim against City of Dallas
$100,000Employment retaliation claim.
Officially reported payment; settlement versus judgment unspecified · FY2020–21. Whole-case amount. Not an average or prediction. Excluded from settlement ranges: the report does not distinguish a settlement from a judgment.
Reported 2020
Source: Dallas City Attorney — FY2021–22 report (opens in a new tab)Head-on crash with fetal death, pelvic and limb fractures, organ injuries and…
$5,240,000Head-on crash with fetal death, pelvic and limb fractures, organ injuries and severe brain injury.
Reported settlement · 2023-12-10. Whole-case reported settlement, potentially covering multiple injuries. Not a value assigned to one body part; gross amount before deductions.
Reported 2023
Source: Virginia Lawyers Weekly (opens in a new tab)Baltimore-approved civil settlement with Freddie Gray’s family following fatal neck…
$6,400,000Baltimore-approved civil settlement with Freddie Gray’s family following fatal neck and throat injuries in police custody. Not a whiplash-only claim.
Reported settlement · 2015-09-09. Reported whole-case settlement; gross amount, not a typical payout or guaranteed recovery.
Reported 2015
Source: CNN — The Situation Room transcript (opens in a new tab)Missed prostate-cancer recurrence claim ending in death; this is a cancer example,…
$1,400,000Missed prostate-cancer recurrence claim ending in death; this is a cancer example, not a mesothelioma result.
Reported settlement · 2023-05-15. Whole-case reported settlement, potentially covering multiple injuries. Not a value assigned to one body part; gross amount before deductions.
Reported 2023
Source: Virginia Lawyers Weekly (opens in a new tab)Civil settlement with the family of a store manager fatally shot during a police…
$9,500,000Civil settlement with the family of a store manager fatally shot during a police pursuit.
Reported settlement · 2024-08-31. Reported whole-case settlement; gross amount, not a typical payout or guaranteed recovery.
Reported 2024
Source: NBC Los Angeles / City News Service (opens in a new tab)Nursing home pressure-ulcer claim followed by the resident’s death
$925,000Nursing home pressure-ulcer claim followed by the resident’s death.
Reported settlement · 2025-12-22. Whole-case reported settlement, potentially covering multiple injuries. Not a value assigned to one body part; gross amount before deductions.
Reported 2025
Source: Virginia Lawyers Weekly (opens in a new tab)Free case evaluation
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