Michigan Wrongful Death Damages

Loss of consortium claims are the most common derivative damages collected because of the wrongful death of a motorcyclist.  Loss of consortium refers to damages from the loss of the deceased motorcyclist’s company, family relationship, support, and love and affection.

The amount of damages that such a person may be entitled to for the wrongful death of a motorcyclist is usually decided by a jury.  The standard jury instruction for loss of consortium claims is very clear that a jury is to determine how long into the future the damages will be sustained if the injury to the spouse is of a continuing nature. This will depend on how long a person is likely to live, which is generally presented to the jury in the form of statutory mortality tables as developed by the Center for Disease Control.

Loss of parental society and companionship are non-spousal loss of consortium claims that are available to children.  Such damages can be collected when a parent is killed in a motorcycle accident.  When someone’s child is killed, however, Michigan does not recognize recovery of a parent suing for loss of companionship for the deceased child.  But, when a child is killed, Michigan law does recognize a parent’s entitlement to recovery for economic damages such as medical expenses, loss of services, paying for the care of an injured child, and even damages for wages that the child may have earned up to the age of eighteen.

Compensation through loss of consortium or loss of parental society and companionship claims is not limited to the deceased motorcyclist’s spouse, parents, or children, but applies to all of the family members entitled to recovery under the Wrongful Death Act found at MCL 600.2922, which includes the deceased’s spouse, children, descendents, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, and if none of these persons survive the deceased, then those persons to whom the estate of the deceased would pass under the law of intestate succession determined as of the date of the death of the deceased motorcyclist.

Michigan lawyers handling these claims must fully understand these laws to obtain the best result for clients who have suffered the tragic loss of a family member. Family members must also understand the law so that they recognize the types of damages allowed under Michigan law.

For more information on Michigan Motorcycle Accident cases, call our office at (800) 606-1717 and request our book, “The Ultimate Michigan Motorcycle Handbook.”  We’ll send it out to you right away.

Related posts:

1. Michigan Wrongful Death Statute
2. Michigan Wrongful Death Lawsuits
3. Fatal Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit
4. Fatal Jackson County Motorcycle Accident Kills Biker
5. Michigan Motorcycle – Truck Accident

BUCKFIRE & BUCKFIRE, P.C. is a Michigan personal injury law firm and is not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time of the posting of the article. The information contained in this article is from online news sources and any perceived misstatements should be attributed to those sources as we did not complete any investigation of the accident. If you believe that the information is inaccurate and would like it changed or would like this post completely removed from the site, please let us know and we will do our best to promptly accommodate your request. We are very sensitive to these requests.

If you were involved in this accident or a similar accident and have questions about your legal rights and options, it is important that you contact a reputable law firm. Please make sure that any Michigan law firm that you contact has significant experience in handling these types of accident and injury cases and has an excellent track record of successful settlements and jury verdicts. We also suggest that the attorney you contact provides you with a free initial consultation.