The path to financial recovery after a loved one's death involves more than just adding up medical bills. An accurate Arizona wrongful death damages calculation requires a thorough analysis of a lifetime of financial and personal contributions to show the full extent of your loss.
A wrongful death lawyer gathers the necessary evidence to demonstrate these contributions and build a case for your family's future security.
Key Takeaways for Arizona Wrongful Death Damages Calculation
- Arizona law allows specific surviving family members, such as a spouse, children, or parents, to recover damages.
- The total compensation includes two distinct categories: economic damages for financial losses and non-economic damages for personal and emotional losses.
- Calculating damages in an Arizona wrongful death case involves projecting the deceased's future lost earning capacity.
- Courts consider the deceased's age, health, and life expectancy at the time of their death to determine the value of future losses.
- The strength and nature of the relationship between the deceased and each surviving family member directly influence the non-economic damage award.
Understanding Economic Damages in an Arizona Wrongful Death Claim
In Arizona, the surviving spouse, children, parents, or the personal representative of the deceased may pursue damages in a wrongful death claim. Economic damages represent the tangible financial losses your family experiences because of your loved one's death.
These are the measurable costs and losses that have a clear monetary value, and you must present detailed evidence to substantiate these claims.
A precise Arizona wrongful death damages calculation starts with meticulously identifying and documenting every one of these financial impacts.
Calculating Lost Earning Capacity
One of the most significant components of economic damages is the loss of the deceased's future income. The calculation projects what your loved one would have reasonably earned over the remainder of their working life had the fatal accident not occurred.
Your legal team will examine various factors to build a comprehensive claim for lost earning capacity. Common evidence includes:
- Employment Records: Your loved one’s past pay stubs, tax returns, and W-2s establish a baseline of their earnings.
- Career Trajectory: A lawyer analyzes evidence of potential promotions, raises, and career advancement opportunities.
- Fringe Benefits: The calculation incorporates the value of lost benefits, such as health insurance, retirement contributions (like a 401k), and pension plans.
Medical and Funeral Expenses
You can also seek recovery for the direct costs associated with your loved one’s final injury and arrangements. These expenses are often the most immediate financial burdens a family faces. Compiling this documentation provides a clear picture of the initial economic impact.
Bills from ambulance services, emergency room treatment, surgery, hospitalization, and any other medical care received before your loved one’s passing. All reasonable expenses related to the funeral service, burial, or cremation.
Loss of Household Services
Families also lose the value of the countless services the deceased provided around the home. These contributions have a real economic value that you may now have to pay someone else to perform. A proper damages calculation quantifies this loss over the deceased's expected lifetime.
Examples of household services include:
- Home Maintenance: These damages include plumbing repairs, yard work, painting, and general upkeep.
- Childcare: The value of this service includes providing supervision, transportation, and daily care for minor children.
- Financial Management: This includes the value of the deceased handling family budgets, paying bills, and managing investments.
- General Chores: Your family may seek compensation for the loss of the deceased's daily tasks, such as cooking, cleaning, and shopping.
Valuing Non-Economic Damages for Surviving Family Members
Non-economic damages address the profound personal losses that don’t have a specific price tag. These damages acknowledge the loss of the relationship itself. Calculating these wrongful death damages focuses on the human impact on each surviving family member.
Arizona law permits juries to determine a fair amount for this compensation based on evidence presented about your family's life. The goal is to articulate the depth of your personal loss in a way a jury can evaluate. Presenting this side of your story requires sensitivity and a clear narrative.
Loss of Companionship, Comfort, and Guidance
This category addresses the loss of the emotional benefits your loved one provided. You lost a unique relationship that cannot be replaced; the specific loss depends on your relationship with the deceased.
Courts evaluate several factors, including:
- For a Spouse: A surviving spouse may claim damages for losing love, affection, companionship, and intimacy.
- For Children: The claim for surviving children addresses the loss of parental guidance, nurturing, training, and instruction.
- For Parents: Surviving parents may seek compensation for losing their child's love, companionship, and affection.
The Impact of Relationships on Damage Awards
The amount of non-economic damages a family member might receive directly relates to the closeness of their relationship with the deceased. Arizona law asks jurors to evaluate the bonds between the decedent and each statutory beneficiary.
Strong evidence of a close, loving relationship can significantly influence the award for loss of consortium and companionship. An attorney works to demonstrate the quality of these family relationships.
Evidence may come from family photos, videos, and testimony from friends and relatives who can speak to the strength of your family bonds. This evidence paints a vivid picture for the jury and is a key part of any Arizona wrongful death damages calculation.
The Role of Life Expectancy in Arizona Wrongful Death Damages
Life expectancy plays a central role in nearly every aspect of an Arizona wrongful death damages calculation. It helps determine the duration your family would have received financial support and personal companionship from your loved one.
Actuaries and economists use specific data to project these timeframes. Arizona courts often rely on life expectancy tables provided by government agencies.
These tables provide a statistical estimate of how long a person of a certain age and health status would have been expected to live. This figure serves as a multiplier for many types of damages, particularly future economic losses.
For instance, to calculate lost earning capacity, an economist may multiply the deceased's projected annual income by their work-life expectancy. Similarly, the value of lost household services is calculated over the deceased’s expected lifespan.
A lawyer uses this data to ground your claim in accepted statistical models, making the final request more concrete and defensible.
The Survival Action: A Separate Claim for Your Loved One’s Estate
While a wrongful death claim compensates your family for your losses, a survival action is a distinct claim that addresses the harm your loved one personally suffered before they passed away. The law allows the personal injury claim your loved one would have had to "survive" their death.
This enables their estate to pursue compensation for the damages incurred between the time of the injury and the moment of death. The personal representative of the deceased's estate files this action.
The goal is to hold the responsible party accountable for the pain, suffering, and financial losses inflicted directly upon the decedent. Any funds recovered through a survival action become assets of the estate.
These funds are first used to pay any creditors or outstanding debts of the estate, such as the deceased's final medical bills. After all debts are settled, a court distributes the remaining assets to the beneficiaries named in a will or as determined by state law.
The compensation an estate can recover may include:
- Final Medical Expenses: The estate may pursue recovery for the total cost of all medical care your loved one received for their injuries, including emergency services, hospitalization, and surgical treatment.
- Lost Pre-Death Income: This action seeks reimbursement for any wages, salary, and employment benefits the deceased lost during the period between their injury and their eventual death.
- Conscious Pain and Suffering: This compensates the estate for the physical pain and emotional anguish the decedent experienced, which requires evidence that they were conscious and aware of their suffering.
- Funeral and Burial Costs: If the estate paid for the funeral and burial costs, then it may seek recovery for the reasonable and necessary expenses. These costs can be claimed in either a wrongful death claim or a survival action, but not both.
How a Lawyer Calculates Damages in Your Arizona Wrongful Death Case
A wrongful death attorney provides the professional resources and experience needed to conduct a thorough and accurate Arizona wrongful death damages calculation. They manage the complex process of evidence gathering and valuation, championing your case from start to finish.
Here are specific ways a lawyer helps:
- Engaging Financial Professionals: A lawyer may retain forensic accountants and economists who can analyze financial records and provide expert testimony on the full value of your economic losses, including lost earning capacity and fringe benefits.
- Gathering Comprehensive Evidence: Your legal team collects all necessary documentation, from employment records and medical bills to personal photos and videos that show the depth of your non-economic loss.
- Articulating Non-Economic Losses: An attorney helps your family tell its story in a compelling way, translating your profound personal loss into a persuasive case for non-economic damages like loss of companionship and guidance.
- Negotiating with Opposing Parties: Your lawyer handles all communications and negotiations with insurance companies and defense attorneys, using the detailed damages calculation to argue for a fair settlement.
- Presenting the Case at Trial: If a settlement cannot be reached, your attorney prepares and presents your entire case to a jury, using expert witnesses and clear evidence to explain and justify your family's damages claim.
FAQ for Arizona Wrongful Death Damages Calculation
How Does a Jury Calculate Wrongful Death Damages in Arizona?
A jury in Arizona considers all the evidence presented by both sides to arrive at a fair compensation amount. For economic damages, they review financial documents and expert testimony on lost income and expenses.
For non-economic damages, they listen to testimony from family and friends to evaluate the impact of the loss of love, companionship, and guidance on each survivor.
Who Can Receive Damages in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Arizona?
Arizona's wrongful death statute gives priority to a surviving spouse, children, or a parent. If none of these individuals exist, a personal representative may file a claim on behalf of the deceased person’s estate.
What Is the Difference Between a Wrongful Death and a Survival Action?
A wrongful death action compensates surviving family members for their own losses, such as lost financial support and companionship. The estate files a survival action, which allows recovery for the losses the deceased person experienced, such as pain and suffering and medical bills.
Does the Calculation for Wrongful Death Damages Change if My Loved One Were Retired?
Your damages still account for significant losses, even if your loved one was retired. Your family can claim damages for the loss of companionship and guidance.
Additionally, your attorney can calculate the economic value of lost household services, pension and social security income, and other financial contributions they made.
What Evidence Helps Prove Non-Economic Damages?
Proving non-economic damages relies on showing the quality of your relationship with your loved one. Your attorney may use a variety of evidence to build this picture for a jury.
This evidence often includes:
- Personal Testimony: Your own account of your relationship and the impact of the loss counts as evidence.
- Friends and Family: Statements from others who witnessed your family's bond help build out your relationship and loss.
- Visual Media: Photographs, home videos, and letters illustrate your life together.
- Shared Activities: Evidence of hobbies, trips, and family traditions you shared helps piece together a lifetime of memories.
Building a Stable Foundation
Filing a wrongful death claim focuses on more than what happened in the past; it helps you lay a foundation for your family's future stability. Securing the resources you need allows you to move forward financially and offers a sense of accountability.
The attorneys at Gallagher & Kennedy have the knowledge and experience to calculate your family’s wrongful death damages accurately. Contact us at (602) 530-8400 to learn how we can help you start.