Recoverable Damages Damages in a wrongful death claim are intended to compensate for the losses resulting from the death of a family member. Examples of recoverable damages include: - Loss of Future Earnings: the amount the decedent would have earned during his or her lifetime
- Direct Expenses: including hospital and medical bills, and funeral cost
- Loss of Benefits: what the decedent would be entitled to in pension/retirement benefits had he or she survived
- Loss of Companionship: the loss of companionship and financial support provided by the decedent
Non-Recoverable Damages Recovery is not permitted for loss or damage that the decedent sustained or incurred before death, including any penalties or punitive or exemplary damages that the decedent would have been entitled to recover had the decedent lived, or damages for pain, suffering, or disfigurement. Cal Code Civ Proc § 377.61, Cal Code Civ Proc § 377.34 Calculating Damages Some damages, such as the amount of direct expenses related to medical bills and funeral costs, are easy to estimate. Other damages, such as the appropriate amount for loss of companionship, are more elusive and difficult to quantify. Calculating damages is a complex process that involves multiple factors. Some of the factors to consider include: - The nature of the plaintiff’s relationship to the decedent;
- How dependant the plaintiff was on the decedent;
- The anticipated lifespan of the decedent;
- The anticipated earnings and employment benefits of the decedent; and
- The amount of comparative fault (if any) on the part of the decedent.
Discounting Damages to Reflect Present Value In many wrongful death cases, a significant component of the recovery is for the loss of financial support provided by the decedent. Typically, this amount is calculated by multiplying the decedent’s earnings at the time of death by the number of anticipated years before retirement or expected death using a life expectancy table. For example, if a spouse at age 40 is earning $50,000 at the time of death, and he was not expected to retire or die for the next 25 years, his yearly earnings would be multiplied by the number of years he was expected to continue working ($50,000 x 25). In this example, the expected future loss would be $1,250,000. When using a life expectancy table to calculate future losses, courts will often reduce the total future loss to a present dollar value. Since most wrongful death damage awards are paid in a lump sum, a beneficiary essentially receives the total amount of earnings and benefits the decedent would have made over the course of his/her life, reduced to a single amount which is discounted to present dollars. The purpose for using present value is to ensure that a successful plaintiff will receive a sum that if invested at a reasonable interest rate, should equal the value of the future loss amount and cover expenses that may eventually arise, provided it is conservatively invested. |
