Damages in personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits are the losses suffered by injured parties and their families. Damages in wrongful death cases are specific to family members who lose the valuable financial and emotional support of a loved one after the loved one dies.
A damages award is the money a jury grants plaintiffs to acknowledge what they have lost. If you recently lost a loved one because someone else acted irresponsibly, the financial value the jury assigns to these losses will never be adequate, but it will help your family through these unsettling times. Our attorneys at Ponce Law are dedicated to maximizing our clients’ damages in Nashville wrongful death cases.
Economic damages are awarded for losses that can be calculated. These include medical bills related to the fatal injury, reasonable funeral and burial expenses, and the deceased’s lost wages, including future wages. The court considers the deceased’s salary at the time of death, work history, and career path.
Our attorneys at Ponce Law have more than three decades of experience calculating damages in Nashville wrongful death actions. We understand how important it is for your family to remain financially stable after losing a loved one who was the main provider. If the deceased was a stay-at-home parent, those household services have a monetary value, also. To avoid disrupting young children more than necessary, families can be compensated to hire household help. Economic damages are not capped but are paid at the full value of what your attorney can prove.
Losses that are real but intangible also qualify for compensation. This can include not only any conscious pain the deceased suffered prior to death, but also:
Because these losses are subjective, the jury will consider the relationships the deceased had with family members and past awards in similar cases.
Tennessee caps non-economic damages at $750,000, or $1,000,000 if the deceased was a parent to a minor. Judges have some discretion to remove the cap if the defendant’s behavior was especially reckless, often in drunk driving accidents in which the defendant’s blood alcohol concentration was extremely high. To understand the types of damages you may be entitled to, contact Nashville’s premier personal injury law firm, Ponce Law, to discuss your wrongful death case.
Punitive damages focus on punishing defendants rather than compensating plaintiffs, although they do both. Plaintiffs must prove with clear and convincing evidence that defendants acted with extreme disregard for others’ safety, with malice, or with fraudulence.
Punitive damages are capped at twice the amount of compensatory damages or at $500,000, whichever is greater, but the courts also have discretion to lift the cap in particularly shocking situations. For an assessment of damages in Nashville wrongful death actions, contact Ponce Law, repeatedly voted the best law firm in the Tennessean’s annual Best of Music City Awards.
When a loved one dies from injuries caused by another’s negligence or recklessness, grief is not the only challenge families face. The financial burden from the sudden loss of the deceased’s contributions can add more emotional turmoil.
Our attorneys at Ponce Law are passionate about helping others. We are local, and we are here for you. We work quickly to get your family the money necessary to help you overcome your loss. Awards for damages in Nashville wrongful death cases are important for your family’s future. Call now for a free consultation.
