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.…