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No amount of money can possibly make up for the untimely loss of a loved one from someone else’s irresponsible or illegal misconduct. However, demanding fair civil recovery in the wake of such a tragedy can preserve your family’s financial security for years to come.
Damages in Sugar Land wrongful death cases will vary depending on your family’s unique circumstances and needs, as will the financial value of the damages you incorporate into a lawsuit or settlement demand. Fortunately, help is available from compassionate wrongful death attorneys. We have years of experience helping families like yours get every cent of what they deserve.
A wrongful death can lead to a host of direct financial losses for surviving family members of the decedent. Most notably, there is the loss of financial support the decedent was providing to a spouse and dependent children through their job, investments, or any other income source.
In some situations, it may also be important to account for losses of financial gain the deceased would have produced if they had lived a full life—for example, lost value of future inheritance, or lost future earning capacity if the deceased person was a child or young adult at the time of their death.
Any expenses directly paid on a deceased person’s behalf by surviving family members can also be factored into this sort of claim. Examples include funeral/burial costs, estate administration expenses, and medical bills paid by family members or taken out of the decedent’s estate. While not quite as directly monetary in nature, recoverable economic damages in a Sugar Land wrongful death claim should also include loss of help around the house and assistance with childcare, which can often be calculated by determining the costs of hiring replacement services from third parties.
While it is impossible to place an objective financial value on mental and emotional anguish experienced by grieving family members, it is still important to account for this kind of harm when recovering from a loss through the court system. A qualified legal professional can help with estimating a fair value for this trauma as well as for things like lost love and companionship, lost guidance from a parent to a child, and lost consortium for a spouse.
When someone filing a Sugar Land wrongful death claim can prove through “clear and convincing evidence” that the defendant(s) they are suing engaged in gross negligence, fraud, or intentional malice, a court may impose “punitive damages” against that defendant in addition to the “compensatory damages” mentioned above.
These damages—as their name implies—are meant to punish the defendant rather than to provide extra money to the people impacted by their actions. Additionally, state law generally caps punitive damages around $200,000 or double the value of economic damages plus the value of non-economic damages up to an absolute maximum of $750,000.
The purpose of a wrongful death lawsuit is not to “pay off” a deceased person’s loved ones but rather to minimize the financial and personal impacts of their loss as much as reasonably possible. With this in mind, being proactive about enforcing your right to pursue civil restitution is crucial to preserving your family’s best interests now and in the future.
Help is available. A knowledgeable attorney can help with maximizing damages in Sugar Land wrongful death cases. Call today for your confidential consultation.
Lone Star Injury Attorneys, PLLC
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