After a tragedy in Arizona, surviving family members can potentially recover some of their losses through a wrongful death lawsuit. When a person or business causes a death through illegal behavior or negligence, the civil courts may hold them responsible for the economic impact of the tragedy they cause.
Grieving family members often focus on lost wages and other major financial setbacks related to a tragedy as they prepare for litigation. The loss of household services can also contribute substantially to the overall value of a lawsuit.
Unpaid work has a financial value
Everyone in the family likely contributes to home maintenance, cleaning, cooking and care for the youngest family members. While the family doesn’t necessarily pay for services related to household management, vehicle maintenance and meal preparation, those tasks all have a verifiable economic value.
The more unpaid work the deceased individual performed, the more expensive it can be to outsource those tasks to professionals. Stay-at-home parents who provide child care, household cleaning and cooking services provide work worth thousands of dollars for their families every month.
Families can put together lists of all the services the decedent regularly provided, review market rates for comparable professional services and then calculate the lifetime value of the loss of those services. Those preparing for a wrongful death lawsuit may find the analysis and calculations involved challenging.
Working with a wrongful death lawyer can help families better estimate their losses and pursue appropriate amounts of compensation. Unpaid household work can be a significant contributing factor to the overall value of a wrongful death lawsuit.
