Who Can Get Compensated Following Filing of Wrongful Death Claim?

The legal system feels that such compensation should be made available to the surviving spouse and other family members, especially those that have been closest to the deceased. That would include the children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters.

How does the compensation get handed to the court?

Sometimes that awarded money comes in smaller packages; sometimes the court receives a lump sum. In the latter case, the court can arrange for the money to be apportioned to the designated family members. If requested, the court will have the portion that is meant for young children placed in a structured annuity. In that way, no other family member can gain access to that smaller sum. The child gains access to the money held in the structured annuity once he or she turns 18.

If the deceased had ended one marriage and married someone else, the children from both marriages would deserve a portion of the compensation. Yet those living with the first spouse should not feel obligated to share their money with that same person. As stated earlier, only the surviving spouse gets any of the awarded money.

On the other hand, the court would not forbid a child that has reached the age of 18 years, from offering a part of what had come from a structured annuity to some family member that had not received a portion of funds distributed by the court. In fact, any of the more distant relatives could get a part of what the others had received, if any of those recipients felt compelled to grant such a share.

For what losses do grieving families get compensated?

Each of those families has had to spend money on funeral expenses; that gets considered as a loss and belongs on a list of the expenses that need to be compensated. Often some of those related to the deceased have lived in a different location. Their travel expenses at the time of the funeral also get considered as a loss; each such expense gets compensated.

If the deceased had not yet retired, Personal Injury Lawyer in Stouffville that filed the wrongful death lawsuit on the behalf of the family, deserve to have the awarded funds cover the loss of income. That would be the earnings that the deceased could have received, before retiring. If the early death of that loved one had changed the extent of a close relative’s inheritance, then that fact would count as a loss.

Those that previously lived with the deceased lost some services, in addition to love and companionship. In order to make up for that loss, the court factors it into an equation the one that decides how much money gets awarded to those that deserve some form of compensation.