Value of Life

Allen Schreiber • June 22, 2021
Tough question: What is a life worth?

A friend recently recommended that I listen to a Freakonomics podcast, “Who Decides How Much a Life Is Worth?”


In this excellent podcast, the well-known mediator/attorney Kenneth Feinberg is interviewed about his involvement with several high-profile cases, including the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. In that case, and in many others involving mass killings, Feinberg was tasked with determining what a life is “worth” and, ultimately, how much compensation should be paid to victims and/or their families and, conversely, often determining whether any money should be paid.

I often discuss with parties, both the accused and the victim, that the hardest aspect of talking to individuals about their personal situation is correlating that experience into dollars. Almost always, both sides in mediation will admit that there is not enough money to compensate for someone truly damaged. So, if that is true, the whole mediation process requires reframing as to what the purpose of mediation is.


Mediation is an opportunity for parties to make a decision about what the law and jury may allow someone to award them for having suffered damage or injury. That is a wholly different analysis and must be explained to both sides during the process. Mediation is the thoughtful attempt by parties in a dispute to compromise not on the value of a life but what the law or jury may, or may not, compensate you for that injury or death.


Kenneth Feinberg has authored many interesting reads, including two books, What is Life Worth? and Who Gets What?


I hope you contact me to assist you in your next dispute. 

Schedule your next ADR session via our convenient online calendar, or call Carol Waldrop at 855-754-8807.