What damages can the family recover if a child dies?

Most parents in Florida would not like to outlive their children, but unfortunately that happens to certain parents. It can be devastating any time people lose loved ones, but it can particularly devastating when the loved one is their child. People have hopes and dreams for their children and want to see those fulfilled. However, other people’s negligence can dash those hopes and dreams by causing a fatal accident.

When fatal accidents occur, the people responsible for causing the accident may be required to compensate the victim’s family for their loss. This compensation can be a small consolation at the time, but it can also be very valuable. The damages can include loss future earnings of the victim. This is never easy to figure out, but it can be somewhat easier when everyone knows what the victim did for a job and what he or she was earning at the time of their death.

This can be much more difficult to determine when it is a child who dies who has not chosen a career and is not earning money when they die. Families can still recover damages though when a child dies. This is determined by the age, life expectancy, habits of the child, their earning potential, the circumstances of the family claiming a loss and other factors. As one can imagine this is not an easy task the younger the child is at the time of death. It can be slightly easier if the child is close to adulthood and one knows how they are doing in school and their aspirations.

Losing a child is never easy for a parent. It can be even more difficult if the child could have still been alive if not for the negligence of another person. These parents will never be able to replace the loss, but they may be able to receive compensation for their loss. These determinations are very fact specific though and experienced attorneys may be able to guide one through the process.

Source: injury.findlaw.com, “Wrongful Death Cases: Children and Elderly” accessed on October 11, 2017