Anatomy of a Wrongful Death Lawsuit

What Can Be "Put on the Board"? (continued)

C. Loss of the Services, Society and Companionship of Spouse

There seems to be little question that the surviving spouse is entitled to recover the pecuniary value of the services that the deceased spouse would have rendered had it not been for the death. Services include such things as work in and around the home and helping the spouse with the operation of a business. The damages for loss of services of a spouse are not limited to the cost of the services of a substitute hired to perform those services. It is recognized by the law that "[t]he frugality, industry, usefulness, attention, and tender solicitude of a wife and the mother of children, surely make her services greater than those of an ordinary servant, and therefore worth more," and [t]hese elements are not to be excluded from the consideration of a jury in making a mere money estimate of value.

There is no logical reason for allowing damages for loss of comfort, society and companionship in a personal injury action, but not allowing such damages in the case of death.

D. Loss of the Services, Society and Companionship of Decedent Other Than Spouse

Loss of the services of a decedent may be recovered by any of the designated beneficiaries in a wrongful death action, including parents' loss of the services of a child. Whether recovery can be obtained for the loss of the society and companionship of a decedent other than a spouse is much more difficult question.

Despite the apparent reluctance of the Pennsylvania courts explicitly to recognize a right of action for loss of consortium in death cases involving a person other than the spouse of the deceased, some other jurisdictions have permitted recovery in such cases.

In a case of death of a parent, the children of the deceased may recovery damages for the value of the guidance and nurture that they would have received from the deceased. The loss for which recovery is permitted under this item of damage has been variously described as the loss of the parent's services in the superintendence, attention to, and care of his family and the education of the children of which they have been deprived by the death. In order to recover damages for loss of the guidance and nurture of a parent it is necessary for the plaintiff to prove that but for the parent's death it is probable that the parent would have provided the guidance and nurture. Damages for loss of nurture and guidance are limited to the period during the minority of the deceased's children, the loss being presumed to cease when the children reach their majority.

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