Wrongful death lawsuits can help to address the practical consequences of a preventable tragedy. Families seeking closure and financial relief can file lawsuits against businesses or individuals at fault for preventable deaths.
Successful wrongful death lawsuits require that plaintiffs request a specific amount of compensation for economic and non-economic losses. In many cases, especially if a person who has died was a stay-at-home parent, calculating the value of their lost labor around the home can contribute significantly to total damages awarded.
Unpaid labor has economic value
People don’t receive pay for mowing their own lawns, caring for their children or preparing meals for their families. However, each of those tasks has a significant economic value if the family must hire a professional for the same service.
Experts estimate that stay-at-home parents provide more than a thousand dollars of unpaid labor for their families each week. The more tasks they performed for their families, the greater the economic impact of the loss of their services.
It may be necessary to create a list of the services they provided, as well as an estimate of how much time they spent weekly, monthly or annually on those tasks. From there, it is possible to determine the cost of outsourcing that work, which can help quantify the family’s losses.
People already struggling with grief may find it difficult to effectively evaluate the financial impact of a tragedy that they’ve recently experienced. Working with a wrongful death attorney can help families pursue the economic justice they deserve after a tragedy deprives them of the love and support of a family member.