When someone you love is injured by another person's negligence and later passes away from that injury, Missouri law allows you to file a wrongful death claim to include damages for the pain, suffering, and losses they endured between the injury and their death.
These are sometimes referred to as survivorship damages because they address losses your loved one experienced before death. When the injury causes death, these damages are included in the wrongful death action rather than pursued as a separate survival claim.
If you've lost someone this way, you may be dealing with grief, medical bills, and unfamiliar legal terms at the same time. Sorting through the legal issues while grieving can add another burden during an already difficult time.
At The Law Office of Steve Slough, we help families pursue the compensation their loved one is owed for the pain and losses they endured before passing. Located in Clayton, Missouri, we serve clients throughout the St. Louis area. Contact our office today to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.
Wrongful death and pre-death damages can be confusing because they may arise from the same injury. The key difference is whose losses the law allows the claim to address.
Wrongful death claim: Eligible surviving family members can seek damages resulting from their loved one's death. These damages can include the loss of companionship, comfort, guidance, counsel, training, support, and other losses recognized under Missouri law.
Pre-death damages: These address losses the deceased experienced between the injury and death. They may include pain and suffering and medical expenses related to the injury. When the injury causes the death, Missouri law allows these damages to be included in a wrongful death claim.
When the injury caused the death: If your loved one survived for several days after a serious accident, experienced pain, received medical treatment, and incurred medical expenses before dying from those injuries, a wrongful death claim may include damages for those losses. The same claim can also address losses eligible family members suffered because of the death.
When the death was unrelated to the injury: If your loved one suffered an injury, filed a personal injury claim, and later died from an unrelated cause, the cause of action for the personal injury will generally survive through your loved one's personal representative.
Your loved one's death does not necessarily eliminate the right to seek compensation for losses they experienced before death. Missouri law provides a way to address those damages, depending on the circumstances of the injury and death.
A wrongful death claim can cover losses your loved one experienced between the injury and death. Depending on the circumstances, those losses may include:
Physical pain and suffering: The physical discomfort and suffering your loved one experienced due to the injury.
Emotional distress: Fear, mental anguish, and other emotional effects that resulted from the injury.
Medical expenses: Hospital, treatment, and other medical costs that your loved one incurred before death.
Lost wages or earning capacity: Income your loved one lost because of the injury before death.
Other losses: Additional losses your loved one personally experienced before death.
Missouri courts do not allow attorneys to use a “per diem” formula, which assigns a specific dollar amount to each hour or day of suffering. Instead, the jury determines a fair amount based on the evidence and circumstances of the case.
Our Missouri personal injury lawyer can help you review the available evidence to identify the losses your loved one experienced before death and document their medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and other losses that may support your claim. We can also help you present this evidence to establish the damages your family may be entitled to recover.
Because your loved one can no longer testify about what they experienced, other evidence becomes especially important in proving the losses they experienced before death. The evidence you should gather to support a wrongful death claim includes:
Medical records documenting your loved one's injury, treatment, and decline
Testimony from doctors, nurses, and hospice or palliative care providers
Statements from family members who witnessed your loved one's suffering
Photographs, journals, or communications from the time between injury and death
This can be one of the more difficult parts of the process, especially when it means revisiting your loved one's final days or weeks. At The Law Office of Steve Slough, we can help you gather medical records, speak with witnesses, and collect other evidence showing what your loved one experienced before death.
In Missouri, damages related to a death are generally handled through a wrongful death action. Depending on which family members survive the deceased, the law allows the following people to file a claim:
Spouse, children, surviving lineal descendants of deceased children, or parents: The surviving spouse, children, surviving lineal descendants of deceased children, or parents of the deceased may file.
Siblings or their descendants: If no one in the first class is entitled to bring the action, the deceased's siblings or their descendants may file.
Plaintiff ad litem: If no one in the first two classes is entitled to bring the action, the court may appoint a plaintiff ad litem.
The state generally gives you three years from the date of death to file a wrongful death claim. Different rules may apply when a personal injury claim survives independently of the death. Missing an applicable deadline can bar a claim. We can review your situation, identify the deadlines that apply, and help you determine what to file and when.
If you’ve lost a loved one because of someone else’s negligence, you may be facing difficult legal questions while also grieving. You may need to determine which claims apply, what losses your loved one experienced before death, and what evidence can support those losses.
At The Law Office of Steve Slough, our attorney, Steve Slough, can help you evaluate the circumstances of your loved one’s injury and death, identify the damages you may be able to recover, and gather evidence to support your claim. We can also explain the filing deadlines that apply to your situation and what you can expect from the legal process.
Located in Clayton, Missouri, we serve clients throughout St. Louis and St. Charles County, Missouri, as well as Madison County, Missouri, and St. Clair County, Illinois. If you believe someone else’s negligence caused your loved one’s injury and death, contact our office today to schedule a free consultation.
When someone you love is injured by another person's negligence and later passes away from that injury, Missouri law allows you to file a wrongful death claim to include damages for the pain, suffering, and losses they endured between the injury and their death.
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