On the morning of Aug. 17, 2002, 67-year-old Mary Croswell was found dead by her home health aides, wedged between her mattress and a bed rail.

Now, in order to decide how much of a $100,000 settlement should be distributed to Ms. Croswell’s daughter and how much should go to the state of New York, a Brooklyn court will first have to decide how much pain, if any, Ms. Croswell experienced while dying.