Actor Paul Walker died back in November 2013 when the Porsche he was riding in hit a lamppost and burst into flames. The driver of the car, Roger Rodas also perished in the firery crash. Walker’s eighteen year-old daughter and sole heir has now reached a confidential settlement with the German car maker.

While details of the wrongful death settlement are not available, Fox News reports on some of the allegations made in the initial complaint against Porsche “The lawsuit which was filed against the car maker in 2015 claimed that the vehicle did not have the proper safety features installed correctly in the car. The lawsuit also alleged the actor was alive after the crash but could not get out of the car due to his seatbelt.” In addition to this settlement, Meadow Walker also reached a $10 Million wrongful death settlement with the estate of Roger Rodas.

Why keep things a secret? Keeping things confidential is just one of the many benefits of reaching a settlement rather than going to a more public trial with the other site. Not every client has the luxury of choosing between a settlement or trial but when they do, there are a lot of benefits to this type of resolution, including:

• Confidentiality: Death is a personal event and keeping the details of legal aspects of a wrongful death case is something a lot of our clients feel very strongly about. The confidential aspect of a settlement is also very appealing to the other party to the lawsuit as well as it greatly limits their bad publicity.
• Faster: Trials take longer. While some people want to go to trial and some people are forced, the length of time it takes to finalize a wrongful death case that goes to trial versus a wrongful death case that settles can be months or even years longer. This is more a product of the backed-up court system than anything else but if a swift resolution is what you want (and we don’t blame you) then a settlement is usually the way to go…that is, if the other party is willing to talk.
• Certainty: When you reach a settlement with the other side, you know exactly how much money you will be getting and in most circumstances the collection aspect of the settlement is much easier as well.

While no one wants to deal with a lawsuit in the wake of an avoidable death, there are a lot of benefits to filing a wrongful death lawsuit. Financial compensation and holding the responsible party accountable are just two examples of how a lawsuit can help. At Walch Law, we have over 40 years of experience helping families that have lost a loved one. We handle your case the way you want it and will work had to get you the results you deserve. All it takes is one call to get started so fill out our Contact Us form today and let’s talk.