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Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton

All We Do is Injury Law

Toll-Free: 1-800-752-0042
Phone: 1-757-460-7776

PHONE: 757-460-7776
TOLL FREE: 800-752-0042

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Practice Areas

Wrongful Death Settlements and Gender Bias

If you were to die in an accident, how much would your life be worth? It’s a morbid question, but it’s also a question that wrongful death juries and wrongful death attorneys have to confront every day. While it seems not quite right to calculate the monetary worth of someone’s life, it is necessary in order to make certain that the family of the person who was killed receives a fair amount of compensation.

When calculating wrongful death settlements, attorneys, judges, and juries have to ask

• How many future wages were lost for the family?
• How much household support was lost?
• How much potential did this person have?

However, one study has found that how wrongful death awards are calculated is often not fair at all, especially when it comes to the gender of the person who died. All other things being equal, researchers found, the family of men who have died in accidents receives significantly more compensation than the family of women who have died in accidents.

Why is this so? Part of the issue is that, as you might guess, it is very difficult to put a price on someone’s life or what someone contributed to a family. How do you put a price on the advice someone offered you, or someone’s companionship, or someone’s love? Because deciding on a wrongful death case amount is so subjective, it is often also filled with bias. Unfortunately, even today, the bias is against women. When, for example, a man loses his wife, the jury may decide that the husband is less in need of financial support and compensation than if a woman is widowed by an accident. Juries see widowers as people who can take care of themselves and move on, while widows are seen as being left without support, possibly for the rest of their lives.

How can we prevent gender bias in wrongful death cases? The best way that individuals can help is through realizing that this bias exists in everyday life and that they may be subconsciously displaying the same bias. In wrongful death trials themselves, jurors could benefit from an expert witness would could specifically explain why a woman’s life is equal to that of a man; for example, if the woman was a stay-at-home-mom, the expert could explain the important economic aspect of what she provided for her family.



About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and we have experience handling wrongful death cases. We serve every area of North Carolina, including the Outer Banks, Nags Head and the western mountains, as well as all the cities and counties in between. In South Carolina, we cover the state from Myrtle Beach and Charleston to Orangeburg, Columbia, Florence, Rock Hill, Darlington, Aiken, Anderson, Greenville and Spartanburg. 

Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been listed among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008 and listed in the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009. Our North Carolina injury law firm has also been named one of the Best Injury Law Firms in North Carolina for personal injury plaintiffs since 2010 by U.S. News & World Report. Additionally, our firm has the highest rating of AV from national lawyer ranking organization Martindale-Hubbell. That means we have a reputation for demonstrating preeminent legal skill.

While not every injury case meets our criteria, we offer free initial confidential injury case consultations. So call us toll-free at (800) 752-0042. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, please leave a voicemail so we can return your call promptly.



Best Lawyers, VA, NC, SC
Best Injury Lawyers in North CarolinaSuper Lawyers, VA, NC, SC