Losing someone you love can be overwhelming. There are many questions a family asks and a lot of details to deal with when someone dies. Funeral costs, dealing with the emotions of losing your family member and figuring out how to deal with the person's estate are some things that a family usually goes through. If your family member is killed by someone else's negligent or illegal behavior, a wrongful death lawsuit might help cover some expenses incurred by your loss.

A California family has been grieving the loss of their loved one since 2007. The woman was beat to death with a baseball bat on a gymnasium floor in a Los Angeles area armory, leading to her wrongful death. Now, the family has settled a wrongful death lawsuit, just before the defense testimony. The woman's three half-siblings sued the state of California after their sister's death.

An army sergeant beat the woman to death, and the state was held accountable because the man was a state employee and on state property. The story published on Patch doesn't indicate whether there was a motive for the beating and eventual death, but it is possible that there was a disagreement of some sort. If there was a disagreement it would not have justified the woman's wrongful death.

Although the man who committed the crime was not involved in the settlement, it is important that he be held accountable for his actions as well. The story doesn't indicate whether a separate suit was filed in Los Angeles for wrongful death against the man or what criminal legal action might have been taken against him.

Source: Patch, "Settlement Reached in JoAnn Harris Culver City Armory Death," Kelly Hartog and City News Service, Jan. 12, 2012