Going to civil court can be a way to ask a judge to declare someone responsible for a situation and also to seek financial compensation. By filing a wrongful death claim, the people left behind by a tragedy in New Jersey can seek justice for their recent losses. A judge ruling that a person or business is responsible for your loss can give your family closure.
State law allows surviving family members to bring a claim based on the economic impact of a situation that cost someone their life. You may already realize that you can claim the value of a deceased family member’s lost income in a wrongful death claim. New Jersey state law also allows you to make a claim for the loss of support. What does that entail?
Loss of support relates to household and family services
When you make a claim regarding your loss of support, you do not seek the financial value of the intangible relationship that you had with the deceased individual. Instead, you seek the economic value of the services they rendered for your family.
A stay-at-home parent provides childcare, transportation, logistics, grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning services. Altogether, those lost forms of support could have a value equivalent to a very competitive salary. How much you can claim for the loss of support will depend on exactly what household responsibilities your loved one previously handled for your family. The more services they provided, the greater the financial value of the lost support in your case.
Understanding what claims are possible under New Jersey wrongful death statutes will help surviving family members hold the responsible parties accountable.
