Types of Damages You Can Recover by Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Losing loved ones is always sorrowful. But where the loss of such loved ones is caused by the negligent, careless, or willful action of another individual, the emotional loss is even worse, with a sense of injustice. In such cases, the surviving family members of the deceased can seek recourse through a cause of action for wrongful death.
Cash cannot bring back a lost family member, but monetary damages can reduce the economic loss left behind. Families seeking justice need to know what types of damages they can recover through a wrongful death claim.
1. Economic Damages
Economic damages seek to compensate for concrete financial contributions the deceased would have made to their family had they lived. These types of damages are often easier to calculate and might include
Loss of Income and Benefits
Foregone future earnings of the victim are the largest part of economic damages. Courts consider the age of the victim, occupation, earning capacity, and life expectancy to figure out what he or she would have earned in a lifetime. Loss of benefits such as health insurance, pension, or retirement savings may be added to it.
Burial and Funeral Costs
A burial and a funeral cost a lot of cash in the US. Families can spend thousands of dollars on a decent send-off. These costs are recoverable in the claim suits. Bills or receipts are normally presented as evidence for such claims.
Loss of Services
Where the deceased had been rendering non-monetary services such as child care, housekeeping, or elderly care, the amount of these services is assessed and added to the remuneration.
2. Non-Economic Damages
In contrast to economic damages, there are also non-economic damages. These are intangible losses that have no quantifiable monetary value but are added due to the impact on the lives of the survivors. Non-economic damages include the following:
Loss of Companionship and Consortium
Relatives, or spouses in particular, can find it hard to recover from emotional distress resulting from being deprived of a partner’s love, affection, and companionship. The same is true for the loss of parents’ care and guidance in the case of children.
Emotional Distress and Mental Suffering
Grief, sadness, anxiety, and depression resulting from a wrongful death may overwhelm its survivors. While the emotional distress is hard to put a dollar value on, the courts will sometimes award damages for the emotional distress suffered.
Loss of Life’s Enjoyment
In a number of states and countries across the world, relatives will be able to recover damages for the loss of enjoyment of life as a result of their lost loved one.
3. Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are never intended to compensate the family but to punish the wrongdoer and act as a deterrent to others not to commit a similar wrong. The damages are only given where the defendant’s actions were highly malicious, such as gross negligence, willful damage, or criminality.
For example, where the cause of a fatal accident was a drunken driver, punitive damages are warranted. However, note that punitive damages are not recoverable in all wrongful death actions and are generally strictly circumscribed by statute. In many states, such damages are forbidden or very limited.
Conclusion
While money cannot replace a loved one, a wrongful death suit can give families a chance to hold parties liable and seek financial compensation. Being aware of the nature of damages like economic, non-economic, punitive, and survival damages, survivors can make educated decisions about pursuing justice for their loss.
Surviving families can be guided through the process with professional legal counsel, which guarantees that the people who are left behind can claim what they are owed during one of life’s most difficult times.
