Wrongful Death Lawsuit Settled For $3 Million--But Paper Award Only
Many times there will be large awards in wrongful death lawsuits but people reading about the awards may not realize that the person getting the large award may not actually get any money. The following sad case is an example of this. A former firefighter got into an argument with his neighbors and killed three people and wounded two others. A jury awarded the family of one of the victims, Jacob Feichtner nearly $3 million this month as part of a wrongful death lawsuit.
The former firefighter who killed the people has no income. He was convicted of three counts of aggravated murder and is serving life in prison with no chance for parole. Given the fact that he has no income and is in prison the rest of his life, there is probably no chance the large settlement will ever get paid. I write about this case to illustrate that even when there may be liability against someone that warrants a large settlement amount, if the person does not have the ability to pay the settlement--the large amount is illusory.
