Why is valuing an Alabama wrongful-death case so different from valuing one in other states?

Because Alabama stands alone here, and it surprises out-of-state parties every time. Alabama is the only state in which wrongful-death recovery is limited exclusively to punitive damages — there are no compensatory damages for a wrongful death at all. That means the award isn't measured by the family's economic loss, the medical or funeral bills, or the 'value' of the life lost; it's measured by the wrongfulness of the defendant's conduct and the goal of deterrence. It also means these claims are not subject to the punitive-damages cap, so there's no statutory ceiling, and the claim must be brought by the estate's personal representative, generally within two years of the death. For valuation, the practical consequence is enormous: the entire negotiation turns on how a jury would judge the defendant's conduct, not on a damages spreadsheet — which makes the range wide, the risk real for both sides, and a neutral evaluation especially valuable.