When putting a roof over your kids’ heads is at stake, you’ll quickly become desperate for a wrongful death settlement.
Funeral costs and hospital bills can pile on top of the credit cards and house payments you’re been trying to get ahead on. Losing a loved one can feel like a battle for putting food on the table for your family members.
You should know that wrongful death laws say your family deserves compensation for harm the murderer has inflicted.
And you’re probably eligible for more than you realize, making a huge difference in the family’s financial health.
We want to inform you of the different wrongful death damages so you understand your legal rights. You shouldn’t let the murderer get away with the suffering they’ve done to you and your children.
Types of Wrongful Death Damages
It’s easy to assume the funeral and medical invoices in your mailbox are the only damages you need the settlement to cover.
However, the judge understands that the killer did more than just give you unexpected bills. They caused detrimental trauma and emotional suffering that your family may live with for the rest of their lives.
Wrongful death claims provide multiple ways of earning compensation during the official court hearing.
These come in the form of economic, non-economic, and punitive damages, which all contribute to obtaining your highest wrongful death settlement.
Economic Damages
Economic damages have clear costs for how much the murderer must pay. They are usually bills from procedures and services that you didn’t expect.
Although the judge can review the invoices, you must prove the killer’s negligence created these damages.
Lost Income
Lost income can be from the loved one if they were the family’s breadwinner or from you (if you were the victim’s caretaker).
The judge will calculate how much money they or you could have made from the time of injury to the point of death. They also consider how much your loved one could have made if they were still alive and that you have kids at home.
In the end, the murderer must pay your family the bill as a wrongful death settlement.
Funeral Bills
While life insurance policies can assist in paying for the funeral, your family could still have thousands leftover.
The victim’s payable-on-death account could have immediate funds to cover their death and ease your burden. But if they never created one, you’ll need that money as an award from wrongful death.
Keep in mind that the home charges for the procession, embalmment, planning, and other funeral expenses. It’s wise to let an experienced attorney represent you in probate so you have enough to pay.
Hospital Bills
Ambulance rides, procedures, treatments, prescriptions, and follow-up visits are all examples of medical damages you’ll pay.
The largest hospital bills come from wrongful death cases where the victim suffers an injury from a doctor’s carelessness (medical negligence) that begins as personal injury.
Then, it turns into a medical malpractice death, where you must pay for their passing and months of additional hospital fees.
Non-Economic Damages
It will be more challenging to prove non-economic damages, or emotional and mental harm your family has suffered.
These do not have specific price tags, so the judge must decide the level of trauma you all have undergone. Then, both them and the jury will decide how much compensation you’re eligible for.
Loss of Enjoyment
In some wrongful death lawsuits, the victim lives with a debilitating condition months before their death. The family must watch their eventual decline, which can be more painful than the day of their passing.
18-wheeler accidents are a common example where your loved one suffers a head-on collision and they lay in a coma for months. It isn’t until far after the crash that they actually die.
Loss of Consortium
When a child loses a parent or a wife loses a husband, there is a loss of a significant relationship in that person’s life. This scenario is what county and state courts refer to as a loss of consortium.
Children may not be able to defend themselves in court for wrongful death. But the kid’s personal representative, or executor, can recover damages when the trial comes.
Pain & Suffering
Suffering for your loved one’s death doesn’t just end with them: it devastates the entire family. You and your kids have experienced emotional agony over a member’s passing that should have never happened.
The law considers pain and suffering when awarding you a wrongful death settlement. Although money can never replace the trauma you’ve gone through, it does serve as a reminder to the murderer of the harm they’ve done.
Punitive Damages
Unlike economic and non-economic damages, punitive damages are a special class of damages. Judges only assign them to certain perpetrators under circumstances with intentional carelessness.
For example, a pizza delivery man may be texting while driving to his next destination, balancing the GPS and his conversation at the same time.
He may not have intended to ram into your loved one going 65 miles per hour in a residential neighborhood. But the court recognizes his intentional negligence that led up to their unfortunate death.
Your family will earn a higher wrongful death settlement as a result. This deters the murderer from participating in the same actions again.
Figure Out the Payout on Wrongful Death Damages
After you petition for wrongful death and identify the damages, all you need to do is prove them in court.
It’s challenging to face another attorney when you don’t understand wrongful death legislation. Legal speak wins cases in court and you can’t try to advocate for your loved one while suffering their loss at the same time.
The endeavor is too much for one person and your family needs you more than ever at this time.
Our empathetic lawyers would be honored to take on your case. They fight on your behalf and represent you in court with a results-driven mindset. You can be sure they’ll earn you the highest wrongful death settlement possible.
We can also give you an estimate of how much your family’s damages will earn you. Then, our wrongful death attorneys collect all the necessary evidence while it’s still fresh and before it disappears.
To get financial stability and peace of mind, give our experienced wrongful death firm a call.
You can reach us at (334)-269-3230 and we’ll set you up for a free legal consultation with an expert. They are waiting on the other line right now, ready to hear your tragedy and offer support.