One aspect of wrongful death cases in Georgia courtrooms is valuing how much income the decedents might have earned over their lifetime if they had lived. Plaintiffs may request certain amounts, and insurance companies may offer much less based on the victim’s gender or race. This is an unfortunate part of the legal system that should be addressed.
There are estimates that judges may use for guidance. Defendants often try to argue that a victim’s gender or race would make him or her earn less and thus try to drive down the amount of settlement. This means that victims who are male and white commonly result in much higher damages amounts than victims who are male or of a minority race.
One idea that has been proposed is to make tables that are similar to the actuarial tables that are used by insurance companies. These could take into account the regional variations of income for different professions. The calculations might be more involved for adults whose career paths are established, but they might be more straightforward for children who are killed.
When a person dies because of the negligence of another person, the surviving family members are often left with significant financial challenges in addition to their grief over the sudden loss of their loved one in the fatal accident. In addition to funeral and burial costs, they may have to somehow find a way to make up for the contributions the decedent made to the household budget. People in this position may want to meet with an attorney to see what types of damages can be sought in a wrongful death lawsuit brought against the at-fault party.