Wrongful Death Compensation Breakdown: What You Should Know
Explore comprehensive advice on wrongful death compensation for maximizing claims. Dive into actionable tips and ensure justice for your loved one now.
Wrongful death compensation is designed to ease the financial and emotional harm on the surviving family after a preventable death. It’s separate from a life insurance claim. When making both claims, families benefit from legal expertise and guidance.
Most people grasp the meaning of wrongful death incidents. At the same time, most don’t foresee that it could ever happen to them or their family. According to the most recent data from the CDC, over 200,000 unintentional injury deaths occur every year in the USA.
Survivors are often left trying to navigate the grief and logistics of the situation in a state of shock. The family is entitled to wrongful death compensation, but sadly, insurance companies do what they can to reduce payouts.
Knowing how compensation is determined gives families the ability to ensure the financial security that their departed loved one would have offered.
What Is Wrongful Death Compensation?
According to the Florida Senate, wrongful death compensation is the money that surviving family members can get back when someone dies because of someone else’s:
- Carelessness
- Recklessness
- Intentional act
It aims to address the quantifiable economic impact. It also looks at the less measurable emotional and relational repercussions.
The purpose of this compensation is to spare the surviving family from bearing the entire financial burden of a wrongful death. Most states allow anyone related to the deceased to file a claim, including:
- Spouses
- Children
- Parents
- Personal representatives of the estate
What matters most in a legal case is whether the death could have been avoided if the other person had been responsible.
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SPEAK TO AN ATTORNEY TODAYWhat Damages Are Awarded in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
Generally, courts will separate damages into three categories:
- Economic
- Non-economic
- Punitive
The first two categories are the most common, whereas punitive damages are rarer. Economic damages cover the direct financial losses suffered by a family after a wrongful death. They include the following factors:
- Lost wages and loss of future earning capability
- Loss of employer benefits and retirement contributions
- Medical bills incurred by the person before they passed away
- Costs relating to funerals and burial
Of course, a relationship with a loved one can’t be reduced to mere economic calculation. That’s why courts may also award non-economic damages.
According to the Legal Information Institute, these acknowledge the emotional harm caused to surviving family members. The courts will consider things like:
- Couples or spouses who lose their companionship
- Loss of parental care and guidance for children
- Emotional distress experienced by survivors
- Loss of household care and everyday support
In certain cases, the court may award punitive damages. These are reserved for cases where there are circumstances involving extreme misconduct. For instance, the courts may award punitive damages involving gross negligence.
It’s best to get professional legal compensation advice to ensure you’re getting expert guidance.
How Do Wrongful Death Claims Relate to Life Insurance?
Wrongful death compensation is separate from your life insurance policy. Usually, these work side by side, but a successful wrongful death claim doesn’t guarantee an insurance payout.
It’s possible your life insurance company will deny your claim, even if the death was unexpected.
Some policies quietly limit coverage for certain risky activities or causes of death, so a valid claim can suddenly become a fight over fine print. Insurers may say the deceased left out an important medical condition or fact on the application and use that to justify denying the payout.
If the policy wasn’t active at the time of death because premiums lapsed, the company will usually refuse to pay the claim at all. Some insurers drag out investigations and keep asking for more paperwork, hoping grieving families will eventually give up.
Just because your claim is denied doesn’t mean the insurer is right. Sometimes they’re just testing the level of resistance. Getting legal support for claims can help.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do Courts Calculate Compensation?
Courts and insurers typically rely on the following documents to calculate the amount of compensation you will get:
- Employment History
- Expert Testimony
- Government Data
- Scientific Life Expectancy Tables
Expert analysts, such as economists, might be asked to model how much the person could likely have earned in a given lifetime, adjusted for factors like inflation.
Establishing non-economic damages is much more complex since you can’t put a price tag on factors like the strength of a relationship or the depth of emotional harm. In this area, courts will evaluate everything on a case-by-case basis.
Maximizing compensation starts with the right clinical and process guidance from an experienced legal team. They’ll also keep you in the loop and fully informed throughout the compensation process to help you make the best decisions.
What Are Common Barriers That Reduce Payouts?
There are many predictable barriers to wrongful death compensation. Sadly, many families with a strong case lose out.
There might be disputes over liability. The defendants may even go as far as to argue that the deceased party was partly responsible.
If there isn’t enough documentation, like employment records and medical bills, it could weaken your case. If you wait too long to pursue compensation, it could weaken your evidence or even invalidate it altogether.
It’s best to approach the wrongful death claims process with a qualified legal advisor. Their experience helps you know what to do and what not to do. This will help you to avoid the common pitfalls. It’s one of the most important parts of the claims process guidance they provide.
Get the Wrongful Death Compensation You Deserve
Wrongful death compensation shields your family from emotional and financial harm by restoring stability to your household. Remember that you risk your claim being rejected if you don’t have the right legal advice.
Here at Boettcher Devinney Ingle Wicker (BDIW) Law, we’re passionate about getting you the compensation you deserve. Our attorneys are also community advocates who seek to make the surrounding area.
We offer 24-hour support to keep you updated on your case at all times. We’ll only take a fee if we help you win the compensation you deserve.
Contact us today for a free case evaluation.
