Navigating the heartbreak of losing a child is an unimaginably painful experience, made even more complex when seeking legal recourse for wrongful death in Washington, DC. Whether you are pursuing a wrongful death claim or a survival action depends on your relationship with the decedent. If you are the parent, spouse, or child, you may be entitled to a wrongful death claim. DC wrongful death claims involving children are complex. In many ways, they are more difficult to value than a claim for an established adult. For an adult, we already know the value of life in a financial context because he likely already has a job and education. That is not to say we can accurately evaluate an adult’s life, but it will be closer than a child’s.
However, it is nearly impossible to evaluate a child’s value accurately. There are countless examples of children who had a rough childhood, maybe with poor grades and went on to become hugely successful. This imperfect system does not account for the countless ways that make each child unique. So, how do we calculate the loss of future income? If it is a 12-year-old child, we can estimate how much longer he would have lived. However, there is little way of knowing with certainty how much income he would have generated, given we do not even know what profession he was interested in, whether he would have followed through if he did know his profession, and how successful he would have been. The courts take creative approaches to calculating damages in DC wrongful death claims involving children.
Title 16 Chapter 27 of the Code of the District of Columbia covers negligence that causes death in Washington, D.C. This statute also covers wrongful death claims involving children. This statute changes the typical three-year statute of limitations for personal injuries to a two-year statute. If you read anything online that states that the statute of limitations is one year in DC, that was amended in 2012 by DC law 19-177.
The wrongful death statute overturns the common law, which did not allow for recovery by family members.
In Washington, D.C., only the immediate family members of the child may recover for a DC wrongful death claim involving children. For a child, this realistically only includes the parents. The statute allows for a spouse, child, or parent of the decedent to file a wrongful death claim. However, in a child’s case, it is doubtful that the child will also have children or a spouse. Thus, the number of potential claimants is limited. Note that the parents must also have suffered harm. In almost all wrongful death cases, the parents do have a viable claim. However, there are limited exceptions.
One such exception is the Slayer statute. The statute disallows a slayer from acquiring any property or receiving any benefit as the result of the death of the child if the slayer killed or was responsible for the death of the child.
Calculating damages for DC wrongful death claims involving children can be complex. It is critical to consult a wrongful death attorney in DC to understand your options as it applies to your unique case. However, while there are exceptions and additional factors to consider, there is a basic formula to consider when calculating wrongful death damages for the loss of a child.
No child should ever have to bury their child. Raising a child is one of nature’s most fundamental parts of life. On the other hand, it is truly unnatural for a parent to have to reverse roles and say goodbye to a child. This is especially painful when it is due to the negligent conduct of a third party. While finances might be the least of your concerns, things like funeral costs can be considerably expensive. While you may not have any desire to handle this aspect of the passing of your child, it is necessary so you do not have to bear the expense. Additionally, a wrongful death claim affords you civil justice.
Pain and suffering in DC wrongful death claims involving children are compensable. But what is pain and suffering if you are not the one who died? If you suffer mental or emotional trauma, you may be entitled to compensation so long as your psychiatrist will testify that your mental and emotional trauma is causally related to the death of your child. However, the loss of consortium is not compensable in DC. This means that you cannot recover for your mental suffering, grief, or anguish.
You may also recover for the loss of companionship. If you are an older parent who can now not have more children due to the biology of your age, you may be entitled to considerable compensation.
Typically, in a wrongful death case, a claimant can recover damages for loss of care, education, training, advice, and other services the deceased would have provided for the claimant. But of course, in a parent-child relationship, the parent usually provides these things for the child. So, in DC wrongful death claims involving children, much of the compensation for your claim will be in the mental pain and suffering, which may be just as bad for a child.
It is essential to note that there is no cap on damages for a wrongful death claim in DC. This is in stark contrast to neighboring states, which institute a limit on how much a claimant can recover.
DC wrongful death claims involving children are among the saddest and most tragic personal injury cases our firm handles. In our 70 years of practicing personal injury law and the thousands of cases we have handled, below is a list of the most common causes of wrongful death in children.
If you are interested in learning more about DC wrongful death claims involving children or have a case you may wish to pursue, contact our office immediately for a free consultation. Our experienced personal injury lawyers stand ready to assist. Our phones are available 24/7 at (202) 331-7227.