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What money damages are available in a wrongful death claim? In Washington, there are four
inter-related statutes which govern calculation of recovering the damages in a wrongful death
claim. I want to begin by saying that none of those statutes can ever replace husband,
wife, parent, or child who was lost, ever. But a successful claim can help the survivors
in many ways. An attorney can coordinate with the criminal prosecution of the party at fault.
An attorney can help arrange for grief counseling. An attorney can help care with the client.
But of course, our most important form of support for grieving families is in securing
monetary compensation for their loss. Money can’t relieve the grief, but it can help
to relieve the financial burdens. So, to answer your question, there are 4 statutes. The first
statute governs loss of a minor. If the person who died is a minor, that is under 18, damages
are defined to include “loss of love and companionship of the child, and for injury
to or the destruction of the parent-child relationship in such amount as under all the
circumstances of the case may be just.” Well that’s broad language. And courts have
interpreted it to include parental grief, mental anguish, and suffering. Now, significantly,
computation of damages is not limited to the time the child is under 18, because these
losses continue forever. A second statute also allows damages to be recovered for the
loss of a child or adult on behalf of the wife, husband, child or children of the deceased.
Adults who are single and without children don’t qualify. For people who die with a
surviving spouse or child, “the jury may give such damages as, under all circumstances
of the case, made to them be just.” So pain and suffering and anticipation of death is
recoverable under the statute. So whether an adult who dies has dependants and therefore
qualifies for these recoveries, dramatically affects verdicts and settlements in death
claims. A third statute allows recovery for all people even if they are unmarried and
without dependants. The recovery is to their estate and includes the present value of their
future net earnings, had they lived the normal life expectancy. That is, their future income
minus their future spending, or what lawyers call their net accumulations. The estate must
prove these losses through the calculation of an economist. And there is a fourth statute,
which allows recovery from medical, hospital, medication, funeral, and related expenses.
So those are the four statutes. And there are two ways that we estimate the monetary
settlement value of a claim. We use a combination of the two. First, to find a total claim value,
you add up the amounts you’re entitled to for property damage, medical expenses, funeral
expenses, the present value of future lost net accumulations, and the general damages
allowed for the loss of a child, spouse or parent. But since general damages are difficult
to predict, we use a second method to estimate a monetary settlement value. We review state,
regional, and national publications and computerized databases to find similar cases in similar
situations and similar liability patterns, to develop a statistical analysis of value.
We then review those estimates in light of our 35 years experience in trying and settling
wrongful death cases all across the state of Washington. We’ve recovered record verdicts
on wrongful death cases in several jurisdictions in both western and eastern Washington. So
we know what is possible. I hope that answers your question in general. If you want an estimate
on how a particular wrongful death case is valued, our website has a free claim evaluation
form. If you fill that out, we’ll get back to you by noon of the next business day. And
we try to answer two questions: “Do I have a valid case?” and “What is it likely
worth?” Thank you.