After the sudden loss of a loved one, there is much for the family members to deal with. First and foremost, the grieving process is all encompassing and is an important step to dealing with a loved one’s death in the best possible way. However, funeral expenses often start immediately after the loved one’s death and often have no end in site. The offset of finances is often due to a loved one’s loss of wages that will no longer be flowing into the family bank account.
Additionally, it is important to place responsibility for the accident on the party or parties responsible for a loved one’s death. For all of these reasons, a family may choose to seek a wrongful death suit to compensate for the financial loss the loved one’s death leaves a family with.
Financial compensation would be based on the premise of negligence, meaning that a third party was negligent or careless in the death of your loved one. There are many ways financial compensation can be received for losses to the family.
The first way to recover compensation is for loss of wages, which is essentially all the lost income due to the loved one’s untimely death. The second is medical expenses if the loved one received medical care after the accident that caused his or her death.
The third is mental anguish or pain and suffering that the loved one may have suffered before their death. Loss of consortium, or the ability to receive emotional benefits, from a loved one can also be collected.
While monetary gain will not bring back a loved one, it can help the family moving forward. There are certainly expenses that are immediate and some that are considered long-term after a family member’s untimely death. Think about the future and your family’s future without such financial income. Such a terrible situation can be made worse by lack of financial recourse for the injured and wrongful death victims and their families.
Source: injury.findlaw.com, “Economic Recovery for Accidents and Injuries,” Accessed October 19, 2015