Do I have to settle a Big Class Action Lawsuit if it is not fair? Would I have to pay litigation fees if I do not settle?

My father went to a lawyer in Goldsboro August 2005. He received a defective Guidant defibrillator/pacemaker in April 2005 and was told about it July 2005. He thought the Goldsboro law firm was going to handle the case. This is who he signed the contingency papers with. But, from this law firm, his case ended up in the hands of a law firm in the State of LA. It was in a big class action lawsuit. In the meantime, my father died the next year (5/2006). I have been taking care of it ever since. The info I received from the law firm was asking for a jury trial. They were representing 7 people (one's husband had died, and my father had died). Thus, 2 in the group had died. They were asking for $5,000,000 in a jury trial. I contacted this firm multiple times, but no one ever contacted me back. I just received word a few months ago, the cases were settled. The lawyer called tonight to say my father would be getting $5,000. I asked why so little for his life when there were 7 in the suit. I was told he was with 4500 other people and some even got less than he did, some settled for $500. I do not know how we ended up in a group of 7 to a group of 4500. I asked the lawyer what if I did not want to settle for this amount. He said that my siblings and I would be responsible for all litigation fees. We do not have that kind of money, nor my father's estate has no money in it. All he has is a small piece of land with a delapidated trailer falling apart, and we cannot even sell the property. No buyers at all. Thus, there is no money for us to pick up all these legal fees if we reject the $5,000.

My question is - my father suffered greatly, what the mechanism did not do to him, the hospital finished. For over 2 years I tried to get a lawyer to look at the case for a malpractice case against them. No one would consider it, until after the 2 years (May 2008) was up. All the lawyers I talked with now say it is too late and they wish they could have gotten hold of the case before the statute ran out. My wife tried desperately for 2 years, now it is too late.

Now, my father's life is worth $5,000 from a multi-billion dollar corporation that caused his death along with the hospital. The lawyer said the amount was based on his medical records. He is to send the papers for me to sign and settle, and I do not want to, but do I have any choice? This is not fair that we wound up from being with 7 clients to 4500. We were never told anything from this law firm. The only thing we were told by the lawyer that my father went to see before he died in Goldsboro, was that "Hell yeah you'll get some money out of this."

It is bad enough my father never lived to get anything for himself. It is bad enough for his family to be told he was only worth $5,000. Do I have any other recourse to this situation? Or should I settle agreeing my father was worth only $5,000? Why in the hell aren't there any laws protecting the victims in this country? Is this what a judge decides my dad is worth?

Can you give me any advice? I am just completely aghast at what has happened. Do I have to settle? We cannot pay for litigation fees. - Is this your question? Add additional information