What happens when a child is a victim of wrongful death?
When an adult dies, the pecuniary loss to the family is quantifiable; i.e. a child may seek damages for loss of the parent’s care, income, nurturing, guidance, etc. When a child dies, however, the parents’ recovery is limited to their pecuniary loss, which is usually quite small. When a child dies, pecuniary injuries are determined by the age, sex, life expectancy, work expectancy, state of health, and habits of the child, the child’s earning potential, the relationship of the decedent to those claiming a pecuniary loss, and the health, age, and circumstances of those claiming pecuniary losses.
