Wrongful Death Cases and the Elderly

Differing amounts of pecuniary damages are awarded if the deceased in a wrongful death lawsuit is elderly. It is often hard to judge the future earning potential of someone who is no longer working, or who may be retired. It is also more difficult for juries to put a value on the "services", such as companionship of an elderly person, as it is harder to know how much longer they may have lived had they not died a wrongful death. The adult children of elderly decedents are not awarded as much for the guidance and support they will be missing, because it is felt that they are less in need of this support (as opposed to the young children of a younger adult).