Earnings losses in wrongful death cases: a review

What economic losses do economists calculate for the survivors in a wrongful death action? Here is a quick review.

Lost Earnings capacity: Lost base salary, bonuses, employee stock options, etc. that would have gone to the family.

Points to consider: (1) On employee stock options is the value of the option or the value of realized options in the past relevant? (2) Should amount the deceased would have consumed be deducted?

Loss of Household services: Replacement cost of household related services provided to the family

Points to consider: Remember the life expectancy of the person receiving the household services must be considered.

Loss of advice, counsel, guidance: replacement cost of services beyond housekeeping etc. Commonly uses the median of the wage of teachers and social workers to value

Points to consider: How to measure amount of time the person provided the service? Survey of survivors? Public survey?

Loss of household accompaniment services: Value of being around one another. Wages of vocational nurses is used to value in some instances.

Points to consider: Testimony from the family on activities and family togetherness is often critical in proving up these types of damages

Loss of value of life: Value of being alive. May use a number of approaches such as consumer behavior studies and risk/safe wage premiums to determine value of a single life.

Points to consider: People may be more risk averse then simple model; not clear who should get this value since the person who derived the value is now dead. Not all states allow

Loss of enjoyment of life: Reduced amount of value that the survivors now experience as a result of the death of the person. Uses same model as value of life in conjunction with a reduction multiplier factor.

Points to consider: Same as value of life