Damages in Columbia Wrongful Death Cases

No compensation could ever be enough to make up for the loss of a loved one. However, the reality is that when someone dies unexpectedly because of someone else’s negligence, the survivors often experience substantial financial upheaval. You may need the wrongdoer to pay for those losses to avoid economic devastation. The intangible losses, such as loss of companionship, are more difficult to quantify, but getting damages for them can help you feel like the justice system recognizes that your loved one’s value extends beyond their role as a provider.

When a wrongdoer’s behavior leads to death but is not considered criminal, it can feel unjust. While money cannot make up for your loss, punitive damages can make you feel like you have gotten some measure of justice for your loved one’s death.

These three types of compensation may be available as damages in Columbia’s wrongful death cases. Not every type of compensation is available for every death. A knowledgeable wrongful death attorney can look at the circumstances of your loss and explain what types of damages may be available.

Economic Damages

Compensation for financial losses, also known as economic damages, is the most common type of damages available in wrongful death cases. These damages focus on repaying survivors for the direct and indirect economic expenses related to the death of their loved one.

In a wrongful death case, the most obvious type of economic damage is paying for funeral and burial expenses. While people call them burial expenses, they can actually pay for any method that respects your loved one’s final wishes, such as cremation. Funerals are surprisingly expensive and can put families into substantial debt, but they are also an obvious cost linked to someone’s death.

Families may also struggle to repay medical bills. Even if a person’s death is instantaneous, there may still be medical bills since first responders and others often make life-saving efforts. Depending on where those efforts occurred and who provided them, the family could be responsible for paying for resuscitation efforts, transport by ambulance, emergency room fees, and more.

Economic damages in wrongful death cases in Columbia are not limited to what a family must spend after a death; they also relate to the loss of income and services the deceased previously provided. Lost wages, loss of support, and even the value of lost household or similar labor are all economic losses. In fact, state law even has a provision that ensures that the unpaid labor of primary caregivers like stay-at-home parents will have an economic value in a wrongful death suit.

Non-Economic Damages

When a loved one dies, a family loses much more than a paycheck. Nothing the justice system can do will make up for not growing old with a partner, not having the presence of a parent at significant life events, or not getting to watch a child grow into an adult and start a family of their own. These losses, while intangible, are real, so the justice system tries to put a dollar value on them and pay non-economic damages to compensate for them.

For survivors, no amount of damages in a case can make up for a Columbia wrongful death. Few people would take any amount of money to agree to the death of a loved one. However, factfinders attempt to take a more objective view of the loss. The more evidence the survivors can provide about the value of the deceased person in their lives, the more substantial an award is likely to be in front of a jury.

Punitive Damages

While not available in every case, punitive damages are a powerful weapon for courts. Their goal is not to compensate the survivors but to punish wrongdoers and try to serve as an example to prevent future wrongdoers from displaying the same behavior.

These damages are not available in every case. The survivors must be able to demonstrate that the wrongdoer showed complete indifference, a conscious disregard for the safety of others, or that the wrongdoer’s actions were intentional.

Explore Damages in Columbia Wrongful Death Cases

After the death of a loved one, the clock starts ticking on a wrongful death case. The deadline to file a lawsuit is three years. Even if you are not sure you want to pursue a claim, you should schedule a consultation to talk to a lawyer about damages in Columbia wrongful death cases. They can assess the facts of the case and advise you about your potential remedies.