Throughout my career, I've represented families who have lost a loved one because of the negligence of another. Whether the result of a car accident, medical malpractice or even criminal conduct, wrongful death cases are important not just to the family involved, but also as a way to make the world safer and hopefully spare another family a similar tragedy.
I've helped families where the victim was male; I've helped families where the victim was female. One disturbing truth that I've discovered is that many insurance companies—even lawyers—will place a lower value on the life of a loved one if the person lost is a woman.
Insurance companies and defense attorneys make arguments about women's earnings and their role supporting their families, but the truth is that this belief about women's lives is archaic, insulting and ridiculous. I have refused to ever accept this logic when representing families. Children who have lost their mother, husbands who have lost their wives, parents who have lost a daughter—their tragedy should never be devalued because of outdated and simple minded arguments. All lawyers representing families who have lost a female family member should advocate for that family as strenuously as any other family and recognize and honor their loss by rejecting all claims that women's lives are somehow worth less than men's lives.
“What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”