Calculating Non-Economic Damages in Lantana Florida Wrongful Death Actions

Unexpectedly losing a loved one is never easy and can lead to a long period of grief. A family member’s death may result in a lot of unexpected costs, and if they died from another’s negligence, your family be may entitled to damages for those expenses. While it may be simpler to evaluate compensation for economic damages such as medical costs, emotional losses can be much harder to determine.

If you are filing a claim for a loved one’s tragic death, you may need the help of experienced attorneys when calculating non-economic damages in Lantana wrongful death actions. By hiring legal professionals, you could receive optimal compensation for both wrongful death economic and non-economic damages. The compassionate injury lawyers at Kogan & DiSalvo could help you through this difficult time while you grieve over your loss.

How Wrongful Death Attorneys Calculate Intangible Damages

When a person passes away, and the wrongful act of another causes their death, the deceased person’s estate can bring a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of their survivors and dependents to compensate them for their financial and emotional losses due to their loved one’s death. Experienced wrongful death attorneys understand that often it is necessary to hire an expert to calculate non-economic damages for wrongful death actions in Lantana.

A grief expert may be necessary to explain why a person should be awarded non-economic damages for the loss they feel since their loved one’s death. Ultimately, it is up to a jury to calculate non-economic damages in a wrongful death case, but a qualified and well-spoken expert witness can help the jury reach their conclusion in favor of the decedent’s estate.

Calculating Loss of Income

When considering how to calculate the loss of future income, the several factors considered include age, education, salary, and potential for upward mobility. Calculations for loss of income and future earning capacity are complicated and sometimes require experts, such as an economist and a vocational rehabilitation expert, to evaluate.

Types of Damages and Factors that Quantify Loss

According to the Florida Wrongful Death Act, the estate is entitled to recover many types of damages. Wrongful death damages include:

• For all survivors: The loss of support and services from the date of the decedent’s injury to their death and from the date of the death for the rest of the survivor’s life
• For the surviving spouse: the loss of the decedent’s companionship and protection from the date of injury for the rest of the spouse’s life
• For minor children and all children of the decedent if there is no surviving spouse: loss of parental companionship, instruction, and guidance from the date of injury
• For parents: damages from the date of the deceased adult or minor child’s injury
• A survivor who has paid medical or funeral expenses may recover them
• The decedent’s lost earnings from the date of injury to the date of death and loss of the prospective net accumulations of an estate

The Importance of Evaluating the Loss of Companionship

Although the loss of companionship of a loved one can seem intangible, an expert may be able to analyze the relationship that was lost and run calculations to come up with an appropriate dollar figure to suggest a reasonable compensation for this element of damages. Without an expert performing their calculations, the estate runs the risk of not being fully compensated for the severity of the loss of companionship for the survivors of the decedent. The attorneys at Kogan & Disalvo could work with these experts during Lantana wrongful death actions when calculating non-economic damages.

Get Legal Assistance for Wrongful Death Claims

It can be difficult to properly grieve when you must worry about all the expenses that come with a loved one dying. When a wrongful death claim companies all of these worries, it can seem almost impossible to handle everything on your own. If your loved one died from the negligent actions of another, you may wish to speak with compassionate wrongful death lawyers at Kogan & DiSalvo. We could help you and your family receive the compensation you deserve when calculating non-economic damages in Lantana wrongful death actions. Contact our office today for a free consultation.