What Money Damages Are Available In A Wrongful Death Claim?

In Washington there are four interrelated statutes which govern calculation of recoverable damages in a wrongful death claim. None of those statutes can ever replace the husband, wife, parent, or child who was lost. Ever.

At the same time 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. But of course, our most important form of support to grieving families is in securing monetary compensation for their loss.

Money cannot relieve the grief but it can help to relieve financial burdens.

So to answer your question, there are four statutes.

The first statute governs loss of a minor.

If the person who died was a minor, that is under 18, or a child on whom one or both parents were dependent for support, damages are defined to include “loss of love and companionship of the child and for injury to or destruction of the parent-child relationship in such amount as, under all the circumstances of the case, may be just.”

That is very broad language. Courts have interpreted it to include parental grief, mental anguish and suffering. Significantly, computation of damages is not limited to the time the child is under 18. These losses continue forever.

A second statute also allows damages to be recovered for the loss of a child or an adult on behalf of “…The wife, husband, child or children” of the deceased.

Adults who are single and without children do not qualify.

For people who die with a surviving spouse or child: “the jury may give such damages as, under all circumstances of the case, may to them be just.”

Pain and suffering in anticipation of death is recoverable under this statute.

So whether an adult who dies has dependents, 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 were unmarried without dependents.

The recovery is to their estate and includes the present value of their future net earnings
had they lived a normal life expectancy, that is, their future income minus their future spending, or their net accumulations.

The Estate must prove these losses through the calculations of an economist.

A fourth statute allows recovery for medical, hospital, medication, funeral and related expenses.

These are the four statutes.

There are two ways to estimate the monetary settlement value of a claim. We use a combination of the two.

First, to find a total claim value, add up the amounts you are entitled to for property damage, medical expenses, funeral expenses, the present value of future lost net accumulations,
and the general damages allowed for loss of a child, spouse, or parent.

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 claims in similar situations and similar liability patterns to develop a statistical analysis of value.

We then review these estimates in light of our 36 years experience trying and settling wrongful death cases across the state of Washington.

We have recovered record verdicts on wrongful death cases in several jurisdictions in 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 much a particular wrongful death claim is worth, our website has a free claim evaluation form.