Many Different Components Are Included in a Wrongful Death Claim Calculation

Your spouse, an accountant at UTC Aerospace Systems in Rockford, was killed on her way to work. She was driving down Harrison Avenue early one morning, when a drunk driver hit her car head-on. You lost your best friend and the mother of your children that day. Since that tragic day, you have been struggling to hold your family together and to keep up with the bills—medical bills, funeral bills, and your normal household expenses. You are in dire financial straits and need help.

What Is Your Case Worth?

Unfortunately, we cannot tell you what your case is worth without learning more about it. Some cases are worth more than others—the facts of the case and the skill with which your attorney can educate the jury dictates the value. Following are some of the components that are used to assign a monetary value to your claim:

• Income – Your spouse would have continued to earn income for many years. Your attorney will calculate the income your family lost—often by taking the total amount of salary and bonuses, adjusting it for raises and inflation, and multiplying it by the remaining years your spouse would have continued working.
• Benefits – Your attorney will also calculate the dollar value of the benefits your spouse enjoyed—401(k), pension, health insurance, and life insurance. Your family has lost the security these benefits provided and you are entitled to compensation for this loss too.
• Property – The accident likely caused physical property damage to your spouse’s vehicle. Your attorney will include this property damage in the overall claim calculation.
• Funeral costs – Your attorney will include the total cost of your loved one’s funeral in the overall claim calculation.
• Medical expenses – Your spouse most likely incurred significant medical expenses before her death. Your attorney will include these expenses in the overall claim calculation.
• Grief – Juries typically attempt to place a dollar value on the grief your family suffered after the tragic loss of your family member.
• Loss of companionship – Juries also attempt to place a dollar value on the loneliness you and your family are suffering due to the loss of your spouse.
• Punitive damages – If the accident was the result of willful intent or willful negligence, a jury might award punitive damages, which are intended to punish the at-fault party.

A skilled and experienced attorney is key to obtaining a favorable settlement in your wrongful death case. If you are struggling to make sense of what happened and need legal assistance, call our office today to obtain compassionate, fast, free, and confidential legal advice.