Wrongful Death Damages Calculator

Wrongful death damages compensate the family for what they lost, not the decedent's entire income, and part of any income is naturally spent on the decedent's own food, clothing, and personal expenses rather than passed along to dependents. Courts recognize this distinction, which is why the net accumulations method used here estimates only the portion of earnings that would actually have reached the family.

Twenty-five percent is a commonly used rule-of-thumb approximation for the value of employer-provided benefits like health insurance and retirement matching when actual benefit statements aren't available, but a real case should use the decedent's documented benefits package whenever it exists. This calculator's flat estimate is meant as a reasonable placeholder, not a substitute for verified employer records.

The discount rate reflects the assumption that money received today can be invested and grow, so future lost earnings are worth somewhat less in present-day dollars, and a higher rate shrinks the present value of decades of projected lost income more than a lower one does. Courts and economic experts often debate the appropriate rate extensively in real cases, since even a percentage point or two of difference can shift a present-value estimate by a meaningful amount over a long projection.

Non-economic damages compensate for loss of companionship, guidance, and emotional support, which depend entirely on the specific relationship, the survivors' ages, and the jurisdiction's own legal standards and any statutory caps — factors no generic formula can weigh accurately. This calculator asks you to supply that figure directly, often based on comparable verdicts or an attorney's assessment, rather than pretending to calculate something inherently case-specific.

Working years lost floors at zero in that case, so the calculator won't project any further lost earnings or benefits beyond that point, leaving only funeral costs and non-economic damages in the total. This reflects that projected future lost income specifically addresses working years that would have continued, not damages for an already-retired person's overall life value.