How to Document Losses for a Wrongful Death Claim

Establishing Economic Damages: The Financial Foundation of Your Claim

Economic damages are the most tangible losses in a wrongful death claim. They represent the measurable financial contributions the deceased would have made to the family had they lived. Proving these losses requires concrete documentation that leaves no room for speculation. Your goal is to create a clear financial picture of the life that was cut short and the resulting monetary impact on the survivors.

Gathering Proof of Lost Income and Earning Capacity

The largest component of most wrongful death claims is the loss of the deceased’s income and future earning potential. You must demonstrate not only what the person was earning at the time of their death but also what they were likely to earn in the future.

Key Documents to Collect:

  • Tax Returns: Gather complete federal and state tax returns for the past three to five years. These provide a verified history of income.
  • W-2 and 1099 Forms: These forms show gross earnings from employers and freelance work.
  • Pay Stubs: Collect a series of recent pay stubs to show the rate of pay, hours worked, deductions, and net income.
  • Employment Contracts: If the deceased had a contract, it may outline salary, promised raises, bonuses, and other compensation.
  • Promotion and Performance Reviews: Positive reviews and records of promotions can be used to project a strong future career trajectory.
  • Statements of Benefits: These documents detail the value of employer-provided benefits, which are a crucial part of total compensation.

This evidence helps a forensic economist project the total lifetime earnings that have been lost. They will factor in expected raises, inflation, career advancement possibilities, and the deceased’s work-life expectancy.

Compiling Records of Lost Benefits

Wages are only one part of an individual’s total compensation. The loss of employer-provided benefits represents a significant financial blow to a family. You must document the value of these lost perks.

Types of Lost Benefits to Document:

  • Health Insurance: The family may have lost coverage or now face much higher premiums. Collect old insurance statements and new quotes to show the difference in cost.
  • Retirement Contributions: Gather statements from 401(k), 403(b), pension plans, or other retirement accounts showing employer matching contributions.
  • Life and Disability Insurance: Document any employer-provided insurance policies that are now void.
  • Stock Options or Profit Sharing: If the deceased was part of a company stock or profit-sharing plan, collect all related statements.
  • Other Perks: Don’t forget smaller benefits like a company car, education assistance, or gym memberships. These all have a monetary value.

Documenting Medical and Funeral Expenses

The final costs associated with the fatal injury and subsequent arrangements are recoverable damages. It is vital to keep a meticulous record of every single expense incurred, as these are often the first costs the family must bear out-of-pocket.

Essential Invoices and Receipts:

  • Medical Bills: This includes everything from the initial emergency response to the final moments of care.
    • Ambulance and paramedic services
    • Emergency room treatment
    • Hospital stays and intensive care unit (ICU) charges
    • Surgeon and physician fees
    • Diagnostic tests (X-rays, CT scans, MRIs)
    • Prescription medication costs
  • Funeral and Burial Costs: These expenses can be substantial and should be fully documented.
    • Funeral home services (casket, embalming, viewing)
    • Cremation services
    • Cost of a burial plot or urn
    • Headstone or grave marker
    • Funeral service expenses (officiant, flowers, programs)

Create a dedicated folder or binder for these bills. Make copies of everything and provide them to your attorney. Even small costs add up and are part of the total economic loss.

Quantifying Non-Economic Damages: The Human Cost of the Loss

Non-economic damages compensate the family for the profound, intangible losses that have no direct price tag. This includes the loss of love, companionship, comfort, guidance, and support. While no amount of money can replace a loved one, the legal system attempts to assign a value to this human cost. Documenting these losses is more subjective but is just as important as tracking financial records.

Proving Loss of Companionship, Society, and Consortium

These legal terms describe the loss of the relationship itself. “Loss of society and companionship” refers to the positive benefits of the relationship, such as affection, emotional support, and shared experiences. “Loss of consortium” is a specific claim, usually made by a surviving spouse, for the loss of intimacy and partnership.

To prove these damages, you need to show the quality and closeness of the relationship you had with the deceased. The goal is to paint a vivid picture for the insurance company, judge, or jury of what has been taken from you.

Methods for Documenting Intangible Losses

Since you cannot produce a receipt for grief, you must use personal effects and testimony to tell the story of your loss. Think of this as building a memorial that also serves as legal evidence.

  • Create a “Memory Box” or Digital Archive:
    • Photographs and Videos: Collect family photos from holidays, vacations, and everyday moments. Videos are particularly powerful, as they capture the deceased’s voice, mannerisms, and interactions with family.
    • Letters, Emails, and Text Messages: Personal correspondence can show the affection, advice, and daily communication that is now gone.
    • Social Media Posts: Posts about family activities, anniversaries, or achievements can illustrate the public and private bond you shared.
    • Voicemails: Hearing a loved one’s voice can be a potent reminder of what has been lost.
  • Write Personal Impact Statements:
    • Family members should consider writing detailed statements or keeping a journal. Describe how the loss has affected your daily life. What activities did you do together? What guidance did they provide? How has their absence created a void in your home and your life? Be specific. Instead of saying “he was a great dad,” describe how he coached the soccer team, helped with homework every night, and taught his children how to ride a bike.
  • Gather Witness Statements:
    • Ask friends, neighbors, coworkers, and other family members to write statements about the relationship they witnessed. They can provide an outside perspective on the deceased’s character and their role within the family.

Evidence of Lost Guidance and Nurture

When a parent dies, children lose more than a provider; they lose a guide, mentor, and teacher. This “loss of guidance and nurture” is a significant non-economic damage.

Documentation to Show Parental Involvement:

  • School Records: Report cards, teacher’s notes, and attendance at parent-teacher conferences can show the parent’s involvement in their child’s education.
  • Awards and Achievements: Trophies, certificates, and photos from a child’s extracurricular activities (sports, music, academic clubs) where the parent was present or served as a coach or volunteer.
  • Testimony from Others: Teachers, coaches, tutors, and other parents can testify about the deceased’s commitment to their children’s development and well-being.

This evidence helps demonstrate that the parent’s contribution was far more than financial. It was an active, shaping force in the child’s life that has been permanently lost.

The Role of Expert Witnesses in Substantiating Your Losses

For a wrongful death claim to be successful, particularly one with significant future losses, the testimony of expert witnesses is often essential. These professionals provide objective, data-driven analysis that supports your claims for both economic and non-economic damages. A skilled wrongful death attorney will have a network of credible experts to call upon.

The Forensic Economist: Projecting Future Financial Losses

A forensic economist is a specialist who calculates the total economic value of a person’s life in a legal context. They do not put a price on a human being; rather, they project the total financial support and services that person would have provided over their expected lifetime.

Using the financial documents you have gathered, the economist will:

  • Analyze past and current income.
  • Project future earning capacity based on age, education, profession, and career trajectory.
  • Factor in inflation, cost-of-living increases, and potential promotions.
  • Calculate the value of lost benefits, such as retirement contributions and health insurance.
  • Determine the value of “household services” the deceased provided, like childcare, home maintenance, and financial management.
  • Discount the final total to its “present value,” which is the lump sum amount that, if invested today, would cover the projected future losses.

The economist’s detailed report provides a credible, defensible calculation of your family’s total economic damages.

The Vocational Expert: Assessing Career Potential

In cases where the deceased was young, a student, or at the beginning of their career, a vocational expert may be needed. This expert assesses the individual’s education, skills, and training to project a likely career path and earning potential. For example, if the deceased was in medical school, the vocational expert could provide testimony and data on the average earnings of a physician, which would be far greater than the part-time job they held while studying.

Grief Counselors and Psychologists: Testifying to Emotional Distress

While family and friends can speak to the emotional impact of the loss, testimony from a mental health professional can provide clinical validation. If family members are seeking counseling or therapy to cope with their grief, the therapist’s records and testimony can serve as powerful evidence of the severity of the non-economic damages. They can speak to conditions like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) resulting from the death, giving weight to the claim for emotional suffering.

Preserving Evidence Related to the Wrongful Act

While documenting your losses is a primary task, you must also preserve evidence that proves the other party’s fault. Liability is the cornerstone of any wrongful death claim. Without proof that someone else’s negligence or wrongful act caused the death, there can be no recovery.

Securing Accident Reports and Official Records

Official reports are often the most important pieces of evidence for establishing fault. Your attorney will help you obtain these, but it is good to know what to look for.

  • Police or Accident Report: For a car crash, this report will contain details about the scene, vehicle positions, witness information, and the officer’s initial determination of fault.
  • Coroner’s or Medical Examiner’s Report: This document will officially state the cause of death, which is crucial for linking the death to the incident.
  • Workplace Incident Reports: For a death at a work site, there may be an internal company report or an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
  • NTSB or FAA Reports: In cases of aviation incidents, federal agencies will conduct a thorough investigation and produce a detailed report.

Collecting Witness Information and Statements

Independent witnesses who have no stake in the outcome are highly credible. If you are able, get the names, phone numbers, and addresses of anyone who saw the incident. Even if they only saw the moments just before or after, their account could be valuable. Your legal team can later contact them to get a formal statement or deposition.

Photographing and Videotaping the Scene

Visual evidence is extremely compelling. If possible, take pictures and videos of the scene of the incident as soon as you can.

  • For a vehicle collision: Photograph the damage to all vehicles involved, skid marks on the road, traffic signals, and any relevant road conditions.
  • For a premises liability case (e.g., a slip and fall): Take pictures of the hazard that caused the incident, such as a wet floor without a warning sign, a broken stair, or poor lighting.

This evidence can disappear quickly as scenes are cleaned up and conditions change, so preserving it immediately is critical.

The Decedent’s Pain and Suffering: Documenting the Final Moments

In some cases, the family can bring a claim not only for their own losses but also for the suffering the deceased person endured before they died. This is typically part of a “survival action,” a claim brought by the estate to recover damages the deceased would have been entitled to if they had survived.

Understanding Survival Actions vs. Wrongful Death Claims

It is helpful to understand the distinction between these two related but separate claims.

  • Wrongful Death Claim: Compensates the surviving family members for their losses (financial support, companionship, etc.) that begin at the moment of death.
  • Survival Action: Compensates the deceased’s estate for losses the deceased themselves suffered between the moment of injury and the moment of death. This includes their medical bills, lost wages before death, and their conscious pain and suffering.

Not all states allow for survival actions, but in those that do, it can be a significant part of the overall case.

Evidence of Conscious Pain and Suffering

To succeed in a survival action, you must prove that the deceased was aware of their injuries and experienced pain, fear, or emotional distress before passing away.

Sources of Evidence:

  • Medical Records: These can detail the extent of the injuries, the medical treatments administered, and notes from doctors and nurses about the patient’s level of consciousness and pain.
  • Witness Testimony: Statements from anyone who was with the deceased after the injury, including first responders, other people involved in the incident, or family members, can describe what the person said or did that indicated they were in pain or afraid.
  • Expert Medical Testimony: A medical expert can review the records and explain the type and level of pain a person with such injuries would likely have experienced.

This is a sensitive part of the legal process, but it is necessary to ensure that all damages caused by the wrongful act are accounted for.

Organizing Your Documentation for Your Legal Team

Once you begin collecting this wide array of documents, you need a system to keep it all organized. A well-organized file will save your attorney time and will help ensure that no piece of evidence is overlooked. A disorganized collection of papers can lead to delays and potential mistakes.

Create a Centralized Digital and Physical File System

The best approach is to use both a physical and a digital system.

  • Physical System: Get a large three-ring binder with dividers. Label the dividers with clear categories. Place all original documents in sheet protectors within the appropriate section.
  • Digital System: Scan every document and save it to a secure cloud storage service (like Google Drive or Dropbox) and a separate external hard drive. Create folders that match the categories in your binder. This creates a backup and makes it easy to share files with your legal team.

Categories for Organization

Your filing system should be logical and easy to follow. Consider using these categories:

  • Incident Evidence: Police reports, witness information, photos of the scene.
  • Official Documents: Death certificate, coroner’s report.
  • Economic Losses – Income: Tax returns, W-2s, pay stubs, employment contracts.
  • Economic Losses – Benefits: Statements for insurance, retirement, etc.
  • Economic Losses – Final Expenses: All medical and funeral bills and receipts.
  • Non-Economic Losses: A collection of photos, letters, and impact statements.
  • Communications: Keep a log of all calls and copies of all emails with insurance companies or other involved parties.

The Importance of a Timeline

Create a detailed timeline of events. Start with the date of the incident and move forward. Note key dates, such as the date of death, the date of the funeral, when you received certain bills, and when you spoke to an insurance adjuster or witness. This chronological record helps your attorney quickly understand the sequence of events and can be an invaluable tool during the legal process.

Get clarity on your wrongful death case, contact Life Justice Law Group today.

Conclusion

Documenting the losses in a wrongful death case is a detailed and demanding task that comes at a time of immense personal grief. However, this methodical gathering of evidence is fundamental to securing the financial stability and future well-being of your family. By systematically collecting proof of both economic damages, like lost income and final expenses, economical and non-economic damages, such as the loss of companionship and guidance, you build a powerful and undeniable case. This process is not about assigning a monetary value to a life but about demonstrating the full extent of the void that has been left behind.

The evidence you collect—from tax returns and medical bills to family photos and personal journals—forms the narrative that explains your loss to the legal system. Each document serves as a building block in constructing a claim that honors your loved one by holding the responsible party accountable for the consequences of their actions. The organization of this material into a clear, comprehensive file provides your legal team with the tools they need to advocate effectively on your behalf.

Because of the complexities of state laws and the strict deadlines for filing, it is crucial to act without delay. The most important step you can take is to consult with an experienced wrongful death attorney. A legal professional can guide you through each stage of the documentation process, engage the necessary experts to validate your losses, and handle all communications with insurance companies. Taking this step allows you to focus on your family’s healing while ensuring your rights are protected and you are positioned to achieve the justice you deserve. Contact our qualified wrongful death attorney to protect your rights, ensure your story is told accurately and fight for the justice your family deserves.