Every wrongful death lawsuit is different. Yet each successful suit ends in granting a grieving family a certain sum of money. The size of the granted funds varies from case to case.
The significance of a criminal charge
As per personal injury lawyer in Spruce Grove the amount of money granted to the grieving family members increases, if the lawsuit includes a criminal charge, in addition to the wrongful death claim. What sort of negligent act might push the court to make a criminal charge against the defendant? It could be something like driving while under the influence of alcohol. By the same token, it could be an action such as giving a patient the wrong dose of medicine, or marketing an unsafe product.
What other factors get considered, when the court must decide how much money to give the claimant in a wrongful death case?
The age of the deceased: The court grants a larger reward to a family that has lost a younger adult, or one that still had many years to live.
The earning capacity of the deceased: The loss of someone that was providing the family with an income that reflected the deceased’s extensive experience and training would push the court to award a larger amount of money.
The age of any dependents: Younger dependents will need enough money to cover them until each of them reaches the age of 18.
The education and training of the deceased: Someone that was well-trained or highly educated would have had the capacity to bring home a larger pay-check. In other words, the extent of the deceased’s education and training would have played a large part in determining his or her earning capacity.
Medical bills: The amount of money spent on caring for the injured victim, before he or she passed away; the extent to which a treatment was offered. Funeral expenses, as well as burial expenses.
Value of any lost benefits: Money lost because the deceased can no longer claim pension funds or health insurance benefits. Another loss might relate to any lost bonuses, if the deceased had been receiving a yearly bonus.
Legal restrictions on the amount of money sought
The amount of money stated in a claim cannot be a guess. The court wants to see evidence that supports any claims about the size of a given loss. Consequently, the attorney for the claimant needs to find and hire an economic expert. When the court calculates the projected income for the future, which the deceased has been deprived of living, there are certain economic factors that must be taken into account. For instance, any projections on the deceased possible income in the deprived future must take into account the anticipated rate of inflation.