Anger and a desire for justice are common responses to tragic situations that claim the life of a loved one. Whether a drunk driver ran a red light and killed a family member while they were out on their daily jog or a defective product caused a home accident that proved fatal, you want whoever caused the loss to face consequences.
Issues ranging from medical malpractice to criminal violence could deprive your family of someone that you love and of everything they contributed to the household. Wrongful death lawsuits are an opportunity for those harmed by the bad behavior of others to seek justice in court. The more people seek in damages, the bigger the consequences for the party at fault for the death that affected them.
What kind of damages are possible to include in a Mississippi wrongful death claim?
People can seek compensatory and punitive damages
Mississippi law requires allows the personal representative of a deceased person’s estate to request compensation related to the impact of a recent death and also punitive damages. Punitive damages are financial amounts awarded to plaintiffs when the misconduct or gross negligence of one party had major consequences for others.
Compensatory damages are meant to reimburse families for the losses they suffered related to someone dying. You can break compensatory damages down into economic and non-economic damages. Economic losses might include hospital bills, vehicle repair expenses and lost future wages. Families can also often request the economic value of someone’s unpaid household contributions, like working on vehicles or taking care of the children.
There are also non-economic losses, which may include pain, suffering, grief and loss of companionship. There is a limit to the non-economic damages that you can receive. The state will usually limit such damages to $1,000,000.
The more damages you seek, the more impact your claim has. If you want to punish someone for harming your loved one or push a business to change its practices by demonstrating how its current behavior costs too much money, you will want to maximize what you seek in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Learning more about the damages you can seek and the other rules that apply to Mississippi wrongful death claims will help those grieving a recent family loss.