A wrongful death lawsuit is a way to impose consequences for negligence or misconduct that has led to a fatality. It is also a way for those affected by a tragedy to limit their losses.
Frequently, plaintiffs pursuing wrongful death lawsuits seek reimbursement for lost wages and other economic consequences of a tragedy. In some cases, the person who died prematurely due to the misconduct or negligence of an outside party was a stay-at-home parent, rather than a wage earner.
In those tragic situations, families may need to seek compensation for the loss of household services rather than lost wages.
What is the value of unpaid labor?
Families may struggle to assign a financial value to the daily services provided by a deceased parent. However, many of the tasks that they perform are quite costly when provided by paid professionals.
Childcare, for example, can cost thousands of dollars per week depending on the number of children in the family and their ages. Meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking are also valuable services. Schedule management, on-demand transportation and cleaning are all costly when outsourced to professionals.
Researchers estimate that stay-at-home parents provide thousands of dollars in unpaid labor for their families every month. Survivors may need to determine how much time the deceased stay-at-home parent spent on different tasks each week and then determine what it might cost to hire a professional for those same services.
Working with a lawyer to estimate economic losses can be helpful for those pursuing wrongful death lawsuits. Successful litigation can lead to compensation for not just wages but also the valuable household services provided by a person who has died.