Wrongful Death Litigation
The National Survey of Claims & Damages
UNMISSABLE: FREE JUSTIA WEBINAR WITH JAMES R. HAUG - WRONGFUL DEATH, MEDICAL MALPRACTICE, ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE $30 MILLION BUTLER VERDICT
Enough is enough. Victims should not be left to pay the price for harm for which others are proven legally responsible.
FREE JUSTICE CONNECT WEBINAR
Wrongful Death Litigation: A National Survey of Claims & Damages
James R. Haug
Founding Partner, Haug Barron Law Group
October 7, 2026 - Online - 60 Minutes
2:00 PM ET | 1:00 PM CT | 11:00 AM PT
3:00 PM - Brasilia / Rio de Janeiro / Sao Paulo
REGISTER FREE - JUSTIA CONNECThttps://connect.justia.com/webinars/wrongful-death-litigation-a-national-survey-of-claims-damages
Are You a Victim of Medical Malpractice, Wrongful Death, Serious Injury or Negligence? Then You Need to See This.
If you or someone you love has suffered because of medical malpractice, wrongful death, catastrophic injury, a serious accident, truck commercial negligence, unsafe premises, nursing-home neglect, child injury or other serious negligence , this free webinar deserves your attention.
It is equally important for lawyers, law students, legal professionals, victim advocates, human-rights defenders and members of the public who want to understand how the American civil justice system responds when negligence or other legally actionable conduct causes death.
Why Is This Webinar So Important?
When a person dies because of alleged medical malpractice, negligence, a dangerous product, a trucking collision, unsafe premises, institutional neglect or another wrongful act, the consequences do not end with the death. A family may lose a mother, father, husband, wife, child or companion, together with income, care, support, companionship and an entire future that can never be restored.
Yet at precisely the moment when victims and families are most vulnerable, they may find themselves confronting hospitals, corporations, insurance companies, government entities, defense lawyers and institutional systems with vastly greater financial and legal resources.
They may not know who has the legal right to sue . They may not understand the difference between a wrongful-death action and a survival action . They may not know what evidence must be preserved, what damages the law recognizes, whether punitive damages are available, how fault will be allocated, or how quickly a statute of limitations can extinguish a claim.
American wrongful-death law is not uniform. The rules governing who may sue, which losses can be compensated and how the value of a human life is legally measured can change dramatically from one jurisdiction to another.
That is precisely why the Justia webinar Wrongful Death Litigation: A National Survey of Claims & Damages is important. It does not examine wrongful death from the perspective of only one state. It provides a national survey of the different legal structures operating across American jurisdictions and follows the subject from the historical origins of wrongful-death actions through damages, defenses, federal law, maritime law, statutes of limitations, choice of law and current tort-reform controversies.
Knowledge does not guarantee victory. But knowledge changes the balance of power.
For victims and their families, understanding these rules can mean knowing which questions to ask, what evidence to preserve, when to seek specialized legal assistance and why an early settlement offer does not necessarily represent what the evidence will ultimately establish before a jury.
For lawyers, advocates and students, the webinar offers something equally valuable: a comparative view of how different American jurisdictions attempt to answer one of the most difficult questions in civil justice - how should the law respond when wrongful conduct takes a human life?
Enough Is Enough: Accountability Is Not Revenge
Victims should not automatically be left to bear the financial and human consequences of harm for which another person, corporation or institution is proven legally responsible.
Accountability through the rule of law is not revenge. It requires evidence. It requires due process. It requires the opportunity to be heard before an impartial tribunal. It requires allowing both sides to present their cases and allowing a judge or jury to determine responsibility under law.
When legal responsibility is established, the question should not simply be how much of the loss the victim or surviving family can absorb. The civil justice system exists in part to determine which consequences must properly be borne by those legally responsible for causing compensable harm.
Victims should not pay the price. Those proven legally responsible for the harm should be held accountable for the consequences recognized by law.
Who Is James R. Haug?
James R. Haug is the Founding Partner of Haug Barron Law Group, a Georgia plaintiff-side trial firm representing injured people and families in catastrophic personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation.
Haug has practiced since 2009. His work focuses on catastrophic injury, medical malpractice, commercial trucking collisions, wrongful death and complex personal-injury litigation. His professional biography also identifies premises liability, nursing-home neglect, and daycare and child-injury cases among his areas of practice.
He graduated from the University of Georgia and Atlanta's John Marshall Law School.
His professional memberships include the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Million Dollar Trial Lawyers, the American Association for Justice Trucking Litigation Group and the Georgia Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.
His professional profile reports an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, selection to the Super Lawyers Rising Stars list from 2017 through 2023, and selection to the Super Lawyers list from 2024 through 2026.
But for victims deciding whether it is worth spending an hour listening to him, perhaps the most relevant part of his resume is his experience obtaining substantial jury verdicts and negotiated settlements in serious injury and death litigation.
Professional profile:
https://hblg.law/attorney/james-robert-haug/
From Legal Theory to the Courtroom: Major Reported Results
Haug Barron Law Group reports several substantial results obtained by Haug and the firm, including:
| Result | Case | Outcome | Location / Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30 million | Medical Malpractice / Wrongful Death | Jury Verdict | DeKalb County, Georgia - 2023 |
| $5 million | Commercial Trucking | Settlement | Gwinnett County, Georgia - 2024 |
| $2 million | Premises Liability | Settlement | Georgia |
| Approximately $1.06 million | Medical Malpractice | Jury Verdict | Cobb County, Georgia |
The distinction between a verdict and a settlement matters. A jury verdict is an adjudicated result reached after evidence is presented to a jury. A settlement is a negotiated resolution between the parties. Both can represent important results, but they are not legally the same thing.
Butler v. McDaniel: $250,000 Before Trial - $30 Million From the Jury
The most striking reported result is the wrongful-death and medical-malpractice matter publicly identified by Haug Barron Law Group as Butler v. McDaniel, in DeKalb County, Georgia.
The case concerned the death of Felecia Butler. Published accounts report that Butler was involved in a serious motor-vehicle collision on September 22, 2018 and subsequently received emergency medical treatment. The litigation focused on the medical evaluation and diagnosis following the accident. A perforated bowel and sepsis ultimately preceded Butler's death.
The plaintiffs' trial team included James R. Haug, Colin A. Barron, Daniel Moriarty and Evan Kline.
Most importantly for understanding Haug's own account of the case, James R. Haug reported that the highest pre-trial settlement offer was $250,000.
HIGHEST PRE-TRIAL SETTLEMENT OFFER, ACCORDING TO JAMES R. HAUG
$250,000
VERSUS
JURY VERDICT
$30,000,000
120 TIMES THE REPORTED PRE-TRIAL OFFER
The jury ultimately returned a $30 million verdict. Contemporary reporting described the verdict as including $10 million for pain and suffering and $20 million for wrongful death.
According to Trial Guides, the jury deliberated for approximately 90 minutes.
The mathematical comparison is extraordinary: $30 million is 120 times the $250,000 highest pre-trial offer reported by Haug.
Haug later used the case to challenge the rhetoric surrounding so-called "nuclear verdicts." His argument is significant: looking only at the size of the final verdict can conceal what happened during discovery, negotiations and trial, what evidence the jury actually heard and whether an insurer's pre-trial valuation accurately reflected the case ultimately presented to the jury.
Whatever position one takes in the broader debate over large jury awards, the comparison illustrates precisely why victims need to understand the litigation process. An offer made before trial is an offer. It is not necessarily a judicial determination of the value of the evidence or of the legally compensable harm.
It is also important to distinguish the different stages of litigation. The publicly reported result is a $30 million jury verdict. A verdict, final judgment, appellate disposition, negotiated settlement and actual satisfaction or payment are legally distinct events. This article therefore does not state that $30 million was actually collected or paid.
Haug's discussion of the Butler case:
https://hblg.law/jury-decisions-beyond-large-jury-verdicts/
Trial Guides report:
https://www.trialguides.com/blogs/news/30-million-medical-malpractice-verdict
Hear James R. Haug Discuss the $30 Million Case Himself
There is another valuable resource for anyone interested in Haug's work before attending the webinar.
James R. Haug appeared on Cases That Made a Difference in the episode:
"Turning Challenges into Triumphs: $30 Million Medical Malpractice Verdict with James Haug."
The episode of Cases That Made a Difference is available on Buzzsprout. It was published on October 10, 2024 and has a running time of 25 minutes and 2 seconds (25:02).
The program gives listeners an opportunity to hear Haug discuss the medical-malpractice litigation behind the $30 million jury verdict and provides useful background before his broader Justia presentation on wrongful-death litigation.
LISTEN TO CASES THAT MADE A DIFFERENCE
What Will James R. Haug Teach in This Webinar?
This is not simply a presentation about one successful case. In Wrongful Death Litigation: A National Survey of Claims & Damages, James R. Haug will examine how wrongful-death law operates across the United States, where the rules can differ substantially from one jurisdiction to another.
The scope is unusually broad. The program moves from the historical creation of wrongful-death actions to modern disputes over standing, damages, survival claims, punitive damages, comparative fault, statutes of limitations, federal and maritime law, multi-state conflicts and tort reform.
1. Where Did Wrongful-Death Law Come From?
The webinar begins with the historical foundations of wrongful-death law, including the old common-law rule associated with Baker v. Bolton (1808), under which no civil cause of action existed at common law for wrongful death.
The program then turns to the English Fatal Accidents Act of 1846, commonly known as Lord Campbell's Act, which became an important model for American wrongful-death statutes.
This history matters because wrongful-death actions are statutory creations. The identity of the people permitted to sue, the beneficiaries entitled to recover and the damages legally available therefore depend heavily upon the governing jurisdiction.
2. Wrongful Death and Survival Actions Are Not the Same Thing
One of the central subjects is the distinction between a wrongful-death claim and a survival action.
A wrongful-death action generally concerns losses legally arising from the death and the rights granted to designated beneficiaries. A survival action preserves claims that belonged to the injured person before death and allows those claims to continue through the estate when the governing law permits.
That distinction can affect who brings the lawsuit, who receives the recovery, which damages are available and how a settlement or judgment may ultimately be allocated.
3. Who Has the Legal Right to Sue?
Haug will examine standing and beneficiary structures, including the difference between states authorizing named statutory beneficiaries to proceed and jurisdictions requiring a personal representative to bring the claim.
The program also addresses beneficiary hierarchies, distribution schemes, real-party-in-interest requirements and legal capacity.
Standing can become a jurisdictional trap that varies by state. A family can therefore have a serious underlying claim and still face major procedural problems if the wrong person commences the action.
4. How Does the Law Measure the Value of a Human Life?
This is perhaps the most profound issue in the entire webinar.
American jurisdictions do not use a single model for wrongful-death damages. Haug will compare the majority loss-to-survivors or pecuniary model, the more restrictive pure-pecuniary approach exemplified by New York, and Georgia's distinctive "full value of the life" loss-to-decedent model.
These differences are not merely academic. They can fundamentally alter what evidence matters and what a jury is legally permitted to consider.
The webinar addresses different categories and theories of damages, including economic loss, loss of support, grief, loss of consortium, hedonic damages, present value and statutory damages caps.
5. What Happens to the Claims the Victim Had Before Death?
The survival-action portion examines what claims and damages may pass to the estate, including pre-death pain and suffering, medical expenses and funeral expenses.
Haug will also address the substantial variation among states concerning pre-death pain and suffering and the availability and placement of punitive damages.
The agenda additionally includes the practical problem of coordinating liens, creditors and allocation between wrongful-death and survival claims.
6. What Happens When the Defendant Says the Victim Was Also at Fault?
Another major section concerns comparative negligence, contributory negligence and fault allocation.
The effect of the deceased person's own alleged fault can vary dramatically depending upon the governing jurisdiction. Comparative-negligence systems may reduce recovery according to the allocated percentage of fault, while contributory-negligence rules can be substantially harsher.
The webinar also addresses nonparty apportionment, immunities and damages caps.
7. A Valid Claim Can Be Lost Because of a Deadline
The webinar examines statutes of limitations, accrual and tolling, procedural rules that can determine whether a court will ever reach the merits of a claim.
It also addresses special regimes such as medical-malpractice statutes of repose and governmental notice requirements.
For victims, this may be one of the most practically important lessons of the entire program: having evidence of serious harm does not eliminate procedural deadlines.
8. Federal and Maritime Wrongful-Death Claims
The presentation is not limited to ordinary state tort litigation. Haug will examine federal and maritime wrongful-death regimes, including the general maritime remedy associated with Moragne v. States Marine Lines and issues associated with Sea-Land Services v. Gaudet.
The agenda includes the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA), the Jones Act and the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA).
9. Aviation, Civil-Rights Death Cases and Claims Against the Federal Government
The webinar also addresses wrongful-death issues arising in aviation cases, claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and litigation involving the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).
These contexts are especially important because ordinary state-law assumptions may not control when federal statutes, constitutional claims, federal defendants or specialized jurisdictional rules are involved.
10. Which State's Law Applies?
The webinar examines choice of law in multi-state incidents. This becomes critical when the death, alleged negligence, defendant, victim or resulting litigation connects to more than one jurisdiction.
Because states can differ sharply on standing, damages and limitations, determining which state's law governs can materially affect the litigation.
11. Current Reform Battles: Damages Caps, Grief and Tort Reform
The final substantive section turns to current legal and political disputes surrounding wrongful-death litigation.
The announced agenda includes damages-cap litigation and constitutional challenges, efforts to expand recovery for grief and noneconomic damages, including the debate surrounding New York's Grieving Families Act, and broader tort-reform initiatives.
Haug will also address bifurcation, limits on anchoring damages and the "paid versus billed" controversy involving medical-expense evidence.
A question-and-answer period is also scheduled as time permits.
You Do Not Have to Be a Lawyer to Attend
This is particularly important for victims and members of the public.
Justia states that its webinars are open to people interested in legal subjects and that free Justia Connect membership is available. The webinar can therefore be valuable not only to lawyers, but also to legal professionals, students, advocates, victims, family members and members of the public who want to understand wrongful-death litigation.
CLE credit is a separate matter and depends upon eligibility, membership and the accreditation requirements applicable to the relevant jurisdiction.
Why Victims Should Pay Attention
A one-hour webinar cannot replace a lawyer, resolve an individual case or determine whether someone has a legally viable claim.
But it can do something important: teach people the vocabulary and structure of the system in which those decisions are made.
If you understand the distinction between wrongful death and survival, you can ask about both.
If you understand standing, you can ask who is legally authorized to bring the action.
If you understand statutes of limitations and repose, you know why delay can be dangerous.
If you understand that states measure damages differently, you know why the governing jurisdiction matters.
If you understand that an insurer's settlement offer is not a jury verdict, you can better understand what happened in a case such as Butler v. McDaniel.
And if you understand that evidence, procedure and qualified legal representation matter, you are better equipped to ask informed questions before making decisions with irreversible consequences.
Are You a Victim? Don't Miss This Opportunity to Learn.
Medical malpractice?
Wrongful death?
Catastrophic injury?
Commercial trucking negligence?
Unsafe premises?
Nursing-home or institutional neglect?
Learn what the law actually says before allowing someone else to tell you what your rights are worth.
October 7, 2026
3:00 PM - Brasilia / Rio de Janeiro / Sao Paulo
2:00 PM Eastern | 1:00 PM Central | 11:00 AM Pacific
https://connect.justia.com/webinars/wrongful-death-litigation-a-national-survey-of-claims-damages
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
Know your rights. Understand the system. Preserve the evidence. Ask the right questions.
VICTIMS SHOULD NOT PAY THE PRICE. THOSE PROVEN LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HARM SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.
That is not revenge. That is accountability under the rule of law.
Official Court Resources for Independent Research
Readers who want to investigate court records independently should use official judicial sources whenever possible. A case's absence from a commercial legal-search website does not establish that the case does not exist. State trial-court records are not universally indexed by private legal websites.
STATE COURT OF DEKALB COUNTY. Official website. Available at: https://dekalbgastatecourt.gov/.
JUDICIAL COUNCIL OF GEORGIA. E-Access to Court Records. Available at: https://georgiacourts.gov/eaccess-court-records/.
SUPREME COURT OF GEORGIA. Docket System. Available at: https://pubdoc.gasupreme.gov/.
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES COURTS. PACER - Public Access to Court Electronic Records. Available at: https://pacer.uscourts.gov/.
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES COURTS. PACER - Find a Case. Available at: https://pacer.uscourts.gov/find-case.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA. Official website. Available at: https://www.gand.uscourts.gov/.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA. Case Information. Available at: https://www.gand.uscourts.gov/case-info.
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. Docket Search. Available at: https://www.supremecourt.gov/Docket/SearchCase.aspx.
References
JUSTIA. Wrongful Death Litigation: A National Survey of Claims & Damages. Justia Connect, 2026. Available at: https://connect.justia.com/webinars/wrongful-death-litigation-a-national-survey-of-claims-damages. Accessed: Oct. 6, 2026.
JUSTIA. CLE Courses & Webinars - Justia Connect. Available at: https://connect.justia.com/webinars. Accessed: Oct. 6, 2026.
HAUG BARRON LAW GROUP. James Robert Haug - Founding Partner. Available at: https://hblg.law/attorney/james-robert-haug/. Accessed: Oct. 6, 2026.
HAUG BARRON LAW GROUP. Jury Decisions: Beyond Large Jury Verdicts. Available at: https://hblg.law/jury-decisions-beyond-large-jury-verdicts/. Accessed: Oct. 6, 2026.
HAUG BARRON LAW GROUP. Haug Barron Law Group's Path to a $30 Million Verdict: An In-Depth Examination. Available at: https://hblg.law/haug-barron-law-groups-path-to-a-30-million-verdict-an-in-depth-examination/. Accessed: Oct. 6, 2026.
TRIAL GUIDES. $30 Million Medical Malpractice Verdict Stems From Jesse Wilson's Deposition Prep Method. Oct. 5, 2023. Available at: https://www.trialguides.com/blogs/news/30-million-medical-malpractice-verdict. Accessed: Oct. 6, 2026.
ADVOCATE CAPITAL. Turning Challenges into Triumphs: $30 Million Medical Malpractice Verdict with James Haug. Cases That Made a Difference. Buzzsprout, Oct. 10, 2024. Duration: 25:02. Available at: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1987065/episodes/15774701-turning-challenges-into-triumphs-30-million-medical-malpractice-verdict-with-james-haug. Accessed: Oct. 6, 2026.
Legal and editorial notice: This article is provided for informational, educational and public-interest purposes. Past verdicts and settlements do not guarantee similar outcomes. Every wrongful-death, medical-malpractice or personal-injury case depends upon its own facts, evidence, procedural posture, jurisdiction and applicable law. Nothing in this article constitutes individualized legal advice or creates an attorney-client relationship.
