Want to know how much your wrongful death lawsuit might be worth? Here are the top seven cases in the USA.
Wrongful death lawsuits are necessary. It might seem callous to try to reclaim money for a loved one lost, but the reality is that it costs money to bury someone. Loved ones of the wrongfully deceased are entitled to claim back the compensation caused by the death. There are medical bills to pay, funeral parlors to contend with, and even estates to split. All of this takes both time and money.
Today, we want to review some of the most famous wrongful death cases right here within the US. Remember, you can hire a wrongful death lawyers at The Dixon Injury Firm if you need one of your own. Otherwise, let’s indulge ourselves with some of the most famous cases in US law history.
The 7 Best Known Wrongful Death Cases in America
Wrongful death cases are more common than you might think. Here are seven of the best known and what they settled for.
1 – Neil Armstrong
US hero and moonwalker Neil Armstrong died back in 2012 after complications from heart surgery. These complications should not have happened. The Cincinnati hospital responsible paid the family over $6 million in damages for the wrongful death. The charges were founded in negligence law.
2 – John Ritter
‘8 Simple Rules’ actor John Ritter died in 2003 from an aortic condition. His widow claimed that the scans given by his doctors were not interpreted correctly. She lost her case since doctors proved the scan results had no impact on the actor’s death.
3 – Aaliyah
Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001 in the Bahamas. It was later revealed that her plane was 700 lbs over the limit. As a result, her parents sued for a confidential settlement in 2003.
4 – Joan Rivers
When Joan Rivers died, the nation was in an uproar. Worse than her death were the circumstances surrounding it. Doctors brought her in to perform an endoscopy and performed an unconsented laryngoscopy while they were there. They took selfies with her, failed to notice that her blood oxygen levels dropped dangerously low, then gave her twice the amount of anesthetic.
5 – Melinda Duckett
A CNN talk show host named Nancy Grace once interviewed a lady named Melinda Duckett on her TV show. Grace insinuated that Nancy Grace, mother of a missing son, had killed the child herself. Later that evening, when Duckett returned home, she killed herself. Her parents sued both Grace and CNN. They settled out of court for a $200,000 trust fund that would help find Duckett’s son.
6 – The Michael Jackson Case
Michael Jackson was one of the world’s most famous pop stars. Nevertheless, his doctor misprescribed medications which saw him suffer a wrongful death. Insomnia drugs that physician Dr. Conway prescribed were the cause of death. The Dr went to jail for 2 years for his part.
7 – The OJ Simpson Case
Who can forget the most memorable wrongful death case in US history? OJ Simpson was found not guilty of murdering his wife in his 1995 lawsuit. Despite being acquitted, Simpson was forced to pay out $33.5 million to his wife’s family.
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