How Are Economic Damages Determined In a Wrongful Death Case?

by Friedman & Ranzenhofer, PC on September 6, 2010

in Buffalo Wrongful Death Issues

When a Buffalo family suffers the loss of a loved one in an accident, the emotional difficulty of dealing with that loss often is only the beginning of their problems.  If the deceased individual was relied upon to provide the family with financial support, the loss may lead to long term economic hardship in addition to emotional trauma.

Fortunately, if the family member was lost as a result of the negligence of another party, the family may be able to recover damages as compensation for the income and support that individual would have provided had they not died.  To obtain fair compensation for the family, there are several factors that must be presented to the judge or jury making the determination.

These factors include how many years the individual would have been expected to work, his or her income and likely future income, fringe benefits, such as health insurance, that must be replaced, and household services provided by that individual that now must be performed by someone else.  The total dollar amounts allocated from these factors may, in turn, be reduced by items such as the amount of income that would have gone towards that individual’s personal support and, possibly, projected future income tax payments.

If your family has suffered a loss and you have any questions, please feel free to call my office at 716-542-5444.

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