The recent Florida bridge collapse killed a father, Brandon Brownfield, who was survived by his 3 young girls (and his wife).  Thus, people are wondering how much a minor child is entitled to if his or her parent is killed in an accident.

Alternatively, I wrote a separate article if a “minor child” was killed in an accident.

I wrote an article about the FIU bridge collapse where I gave an estimated value of the likely payout for each family.

However, this article focuses on a minor child’s right to compensation if his or her parent was killed in an accident.

In Florida, a “minor child” has a claim if someone’s negligence caused his or her parent’s death in Florida.

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Children of decedents are considered survivors under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act. The Wrongful Death Act applies if someone else was careless and killed your parent.

Children of the decedent may recover some types of damages as “survivors.” 

The compensation that a child gets may depend on whether the child is considered a “minor child” under the Wrongful Death Act.

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A parent may be entitled to compensation for mental pain and suffering if his or her “minor” child is killed because of someone’s negligence.

This is a sad topic.  However, I will be talking about it here.  (On another note, I’ve written about settlements for a child whose parent is killed in an accident.)

Not too long ago, people were searching to see what the payout would be after an alligator attacked and killed a boy at a Disney hotel.

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Lane Graves was an adorable two year old. On June 14, 2016, an alligator killed him at Disney.  Specifically, the attack took place at the Seven Seas Lagoon at Disney World’s Grand Floridian hotel in Orlando.

Many people think that the boy was eaten by the alligator. While he was not eaten, the alligator did bite and drown him.

This is a extremely sad event. My heart goes out to Lane and his family. Nevertheless, here I want to give my thoughts on how much Disney may have paid if there was a settlement.

The $10 Million Settlement Figure is My Best Guess

Here, I’ll explain why I think Disney may have paid around $10 million to the parents of the boy killed by the alligator.

This $10 million figure is my estimation.  I haven’t seen any document that says that millions, or any amount, was paid to the parents for their pain and suffering. It’s possible that they did not settle.

On the other hand, the parents (Matthew and Melissa Graves) opened up a probate estate for “L T G”, who I assume is Lane Thomas Graves (their son):

A probate estate is usually only opened up for a child if the parents make (or settle) a wrongful death claim for the child’s death.

That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney paid $10 million to the parents.  The full value of a wrongful case is much larger than most personal injury settlements. I will explain why in detail in a moment.

Also, court records mention that a minor with the [boy’s] sister’s initials received over $50,000 as a settlement not too long after the incident:

The parents asked the court to approve this proposed settlement. The document does NOT say that Disney paid it. I’ll explain later.

I’ll discuss who paid the sister’s settlement in detail.

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In Florida, if someone’s negligence caused the death of your “adult child”, you may have a wrongful death case.

Any child 25 years of age or older is considered an “adult child” under the Act.

Under the Act, the parents are considered survivors in certain situations and therefore may be entitled to get money for mental pain and suffering.

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A pedestrian walkway in Miami (near FIU) collapsed on March 15, 2018.  Six people were killed.  Also, eight people were injured.

My prayers go out to the families of those who were killed in this incident.  This “accident” is a reminder of how precious life is.

I’m going to discuss the rights of the family members of those who are killed in a bridge collapse accident.  This includes the family members of the drivers, passengers or worker who were killed in the collapse.

This incident could result in a verdict of over $90 million for the family members’ mental pain and suffering from the loss of their loved ones.

Let me be clear:

No one can predict with certainty whether the parties will settle.  Likewise, no one can predict exactly how much a jury may award.

However, most wrongful death cases settle.  The same is true for personal injury cases.  These lawsuits will likely settle before trial.

Attorneys and insurance companies put a settlement value on wrongful cases.  They do so by looking at how much juries have awarded for similar cases in the past.

That $90 million figure would apply if a jury awards punitive damages.  I’ll discuss punitive damages later.

I give a breakdown of the full value of the wrongful death claims of each victim’s family in a moment.  Each family members’ case has a different value.

I also discuss which victims’ family likely has the largest claim for pain and suffering compensation, and why.

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If a “survivor” disagrees with the total settlement amount or the amount that each survivor gets, the personal representative must get court approval before the settlement is finalized. [Read more…]

Here, I’ll explain if you have a case if you’re family member is killed in an accident.

This is one of the hardest subjects to write about. However, as a wrongful death lawyer, it is my job to make sure that the insurance companies don’t mistreat my clients.

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