How is Life Expectancy Calculated or Determined for a Florida Wrongful Death Case Involving the Death of a Child?

How is life expectancy calculated for determining determines for purposes of the Florida wrongful death when a child dies as a result of the negligent acts of another person business or government agency? A Florida Wrongful Death case can be pursued by the estate of the deceased child. Damages are the important part of of Florida wrongful death case. In order to determine damages, an life expectancy is a factor or element to consider in a Florida Wrongful Death case. In most wrongful death cases, damages are determined in part by calculating the joint life expectancy of the child and the parent. For instance, let's say the child dies at the age of eight years old. The child is survived by parents. The father was 40 years old and the mother was 38 years old at time of trial. The jury can consider the joint life expectancy of the child with each parent. In other words, if according to the life expectancy tables, the father is expected to live an additional 35 years and the mother is expected to live an additional 40 years. These time periods can be used to consider the how much to award in damages to the parents. Assuming that the child was relatively healthy prior to the accident that caused his death, the child would have certainly lived longer than the parents; however, it should be noted that the case will hinge on the combined life expectancy of the parent and child. In other words, the jury can consider how many years the parent would have been able to spend with the child if the tragic accident had not taken place. In most cases, the jury will be guided by the life expectancy or mortality tables. See Life Tables - Actuarial Tables - Mortality Tables. There may be cases in which the parent or child would have a different life expectancy from the standard charts. In other words, if the parent or child was in particularly good or poor health, the life expectancy of the person may be altered. In these cases, it may be helpful to have medical or expert testimony presented as to the probable life span of the person.

A Florida Wrongful Death case can be quite complicated. Because of this, it is often times helpful to have advice, consultation, and representation from a Florida Child Injury Lawyer. The attorneys at Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. have been representing families who have lost a child due to negligence since 1957. For over 50 years, the personal injury attorneys at Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. have been On Your Side - At Your Side in cases involving automobile accidents, slip and fall incidents, medical malpractice, school injuries, day care center injuries, and other cases.

The book titled - The ABCs of Child Injury - Legal Rights of the Injured Child - What Every Parent Should Know - has chapters on Damages / Compensation, Medical Bills / Treatment, Automobile Accidents, School Injuries, Day Care Center Injuries, and other topics. Get this book for free at The ABCs of Child Injury.