Damages In Wrongful Death Cases

Wrongful death actions can be very complicated because there may be several parties that may have caused an individual's death. Settlements are common in wrongful death cases because most defendants who are clearly liable for causing a death never a question the boundless value of a human life.

Georgia law on Wrongful Death damages is as follows: “the full value of the life of the deceased, as shown by the evidence, is the full value of the life of the deceased without deduction for necessary or other personal expenses of the deceased if that person had lived. The jury should consider the gross sum that the deceased would have earned to the end of life had the deceased not been killed, reduced to its present cash value in determining the amount of the full value of the life of the deceased. The full value of the life of the deceased is not limited to the amount of money that could have or would have been earned had the deceased not been killed.”

In addition to the economic value of a decedent’s life, there is also the tremendous non-economic value of that life, to the decedent. In other words, the jury is to consider how much the wrongful death victim cherished his or her life, the strength and quality of all of his or her relationships, including relationships to parents, siblings, a spouse, children, grandchildren, etc.

Damages in a Survival Action

In most negligence cases, when someone is killed not only is a wrongful death case brought by the family, but the decedent’s estate usually also brings a survival action in order to recover the following damages:

• Damages for pain and suffering that the decedent suffered before dying
• Damages for hospital and medical expenses that were incurred before death

Depending on the facts of the case, these damages can be catastrophic, for instance in the case of a severe burn victim who survives for several months the pain and suffering is immeasurable