Lane Graves was an adorable two year old. On June 14, 2016, an alligator killed him at Disney. Specifically, the attack took place at the Seven Seas Lagoon at Disney World’s Grand Floridian hotel in Orlando.
Many people think that the boy was eaten by the alligator. While he was not eaten, the alligator did bite and drown him.
This is a extremely sad event. My heart goes out to Lane and his family. Nevertheless, here I want to give my thoughts on how much Disney may have paid if there was a settlement.
The $10 Million Settlement Figure is My Best Guess
Here, I’ll explain why I think Disney may have paid around $10 million to the parents of the boy killed by the alligator.
This $10 million figure is my estimation. I haven’t seen any document that says that millions, or any amount, was paid to the parents for their pain and suffering. It’s possible that they did not settle.
On the other hand, the parents (Matthew and Melissa Graves) opened up a probate estate for “L T G”, who I assume is Lane Thomas Graves (their son):
A probate estate is usually only opened up for a child if the parents make (or settle) a wrongful death claim for the child’s death.
That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney paid $10 million to the parents. The full value of a wrongful case is much larger than most personal injury settlements. I will explain why in detail in a moment.
Also, court records mention that a minor with the [boy’s] sister’s initials received over $50,000 as a settlement not too long after the incident:
The parents asked the court to approve this proposed settlement. The document does NOT say that Disney paid it. I’ll explain later.
I’ll discuss who paid the sister’s settlement in detail.
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