In Doug's example, that means a middle-aged human being has been robbed of life, and that, for unimaginable pain and suffering, gets maybe $10,000-$15,000 a year. Might pay your rent in a modest house in a modest town -- maybe. That's simply nowhere near enough, even if we had a decent system of health insurance and doctor pay.
I work in the legal field, and I have heard of only 2 or 3 lawsuits ever, from any source, where I'd take the money in trade for the injury. 90 percent of the time, it's way, way weighted in the other direction. Despite the upper class's greed, the legal system is basically conservative. Very few plaintiffs laugh their way to the bank.