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The loss of a loved one can be one of the most traumatic events of your entire life. This experience is only made worse when your loved one passes away due to someone else’s negligence.
When these terrible losses happen, our compassionate wrongful death attorneys are here to help. We can answer your questions and help you understand the potential damages in a Waukegan wrongful death case.
When a family loses a loved one due to another party’s negligence, Illinois law allows survivors to pursue compensation for the many losses that follow. These wrongful death case damages generally fall into two categories: economic and non-economic.
Economic damages address the measurable financial consequences of a wrongful death. Families often face immediate expenses such as medical bills related to the final illness or injury and funeral or burial costs. In addition, the deceased’s income and employment benefits are also included as part of the damages calculation. Courts also consider the value of household services that the deceased provided, such as childcare, transportation, or maintaining the home. By accounting for these tangible financial contributions, economic damages are meant to help stabilize the surviving family’s financial future.
Non-economic damages focus on the profound personal and emotional losses caused by a wrongful death in Waukegan. Surviving family members may seek compensation for loss of companionship, guidance, and emotional support once provided by their loved one. For spouses, this includes the loss of marital partnership, while children may claim the loss of parental care and nurturing. Although these damages are less concrete than financial losses, the law recognizes their importance in acknowledging the deep emotional toll of a wrongful death. Non-economic damages help families secure recognition for the irreplaceable role their loved one played in their lives.
Compared to economic and non-economic losses, courts are far less likely to award punitive damages in a wrongful death case. That said, this type of compensation is available under the right circumstances.
Unlike other types of compensation, punitive damages are not designed to help you recoup your losses related to an unexpected death. Instead, they are used to penalize outrageous behavior and deter others from acting in the same way that led to the death of your loved one.
There is a high bar to secure punitive damages. For your claim to be successful, you will need to provide clear and convincing evidence that the party responsible for your loved one’s death had an evil motive or acted with reckless indifference.
Some states have placed caps on the amount of compensation surviving families can recover through a wrongful death action. The good news is that Illinois law does not place any restrictions on what a jury can award in these cases. In the past, the state legislature enacted a hard limit on the amount of damages that could be awarded in medical malpractice cases. While these limits extended to wrongful death actions, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down those caps as arbitrary limits on the power of a jury.
The amount of compensation in wrongful death cases is not unlimited, however. It is the role of the jury to award damages that are proportional to the facts in the case, and unreasonable results could be reduced on appeal.
A successful wrongful death action could provide you with a measure of justice following the loss of a loved one. Our personal injury attorneys understand what these claims can mean to the surviving family, and we will work tirelessly to help you get the outcome you deserve. We are proud to serve this community, and our bilingual staff is always here to help. Reach out to learn more about damages in a Waukegan wrongful death case.