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Losing a loved one is a painful and traumatic experience, especially when someone else’s careless actions are the cause of your family member’s death. In many cases, families seek solace and justice through the legal system by filing a wrongful death claim against the at-fault party to hold them accountable and recover compensation for their financial and personal losses.
But how much is your family’s wrongful death claim worth? Calculating damages (compensation) in a wrongful death case can be a complex process. There is no standardized formula courts use to calculate a family’s financial losses and suffering. However, there are various factors the court will take into account.
How to Calculate Damages in Mississippi Wrongful Death Cases
A family may pursue two general categories of damages in a wrongful death case: economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages compensate a family for their verifiable and measurable financial losses. Calculating the value of these losses is relatively straightforward because these types of losses leave a distinct paper trail in the form of bills for medical care, burial expenses, and funeral arrangements. Additionally, your wrongful death attorney will use tax forms and pay stubs to calculate the value of your loved one’s lost wages, the loss of their future earnings, and lost benefits.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are more challenging to quantify. These are subjective and refer to quality-of-life alterations caused by the loss of your loved one. Examples include loss of consortium, loss of companionship, emotional distress, and pain and suffering.
Between economic and non-economic damages, your attorney will attempt to account for the full impact of your family’s loss. This calculation acknowledges the scope of a wrongful death’s effect on the decedent’s loved ones.
Punitive Damages
There is a third form of monetary award Mississippi families may receive, but its purpose is not to compensate the family for their loss. Rather, these punitive damages are only awarded in rare cases and are a financial penalty against the at-fault party in cases involving malicious conduct or egregious actions.
Mississippi does not limit or cap the economic damages a family can recover in a wrongful death case. However, the state limits the amount of money a family can recover for non-economic damages to $1,000,000. In medical malpractice cases, that cap is lowered to $500,000.
Factors That Influence Wrongful Death Compensation
Several factors can influence the overall value of a Mississippi wrongful death award. The severity of the decedent’s injuries before death and the cause of the accident are two significant factors. However, other factors can impact how much money a family may be able to recover in a wrongful death case, including:
- The age and earning potential of the deceased
- The value of overall financial losses
- The strength of the evidence pointing to liability
- The losses associated with medical coverage, benefits, and pensions
- The losses associated with companionship and support services
To get a clearer picture of the value of your wrongful death case, you must consult an experienced Southaven & Hernando wrongful death attorney.
Contact an Experienced Southaven & Hernando Wrongful Death Lawyer Today
It takes time to come to terms with your grief, but you have limited time to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Mississippi – typically just three years from the date of your loved one’s death. The best way to get the compensation your family deserves and hold the responsible party accountable is to consult with a skilled wrongful death attorney as soon as possible.
Chatham Gilder Howell Pittman will take the time to get to know you, listen to your story, and build a claim on your behalf that accounts for the full extent of your losses. Contact us today to get started with a free consultation.
