Accidents that kill someone have the greatest impact. Not only is there an emotional loss, but possibly also a significant financial loss for the surviving relatives. If someone else is liable for the accident, surviving relatives can recover this damage. The damages that surviving relatives can recover from the person who caused the accident are called death damages. Calculating death damages can be complex. That is why you hire a specialist, namely a personal injury lawyer.
The amount of the death loss
When determining the damage, the family income before and after death is taken into account. That amount is then reduced by a fixed percentage of lost expenses related to the death.
This determination takes into account the family composition, the family income, the number of family members and the ages of the children.
Death damage calculation model
To prevent a long-term and problematic claim settlement for surviving relatives, a working group of the Personal Injury Council has developed a model for calculating death damages. The calculation model contributes to the rapid settlement of death claims and transparency for surviving relatives in this process.
The Personal Injury Directive Death Damage Calculation Model contains a calculation method for all kinds of families and situations, such as families with two adults in which one adult dies, families with two adults in which both adults die or single-parent families in which the adult dies. This means that customization can still be applied despite standardization.
The guideline is periodically evaluated and indexed by experts in the field of death claims.
Knowing more?
Although the directive standardizes the calculation of death damages, expert guidance from a lawyer is still necessary to ensure that the claim is settled carefully. You can contact specialized personal injury lawyers, such as MCJ Advocatuur.
Do you have a question about death damages, or another form of personal injury? Please contact us today.