The measure of damages is not the gross amount of what the decedent would have earned over his work life expectancy, but rather, the amount that the decedent would have contributed to his survivors after deduction of an appropriate amount for what would have been the decedent s personal consumption expenditures. The burden of proof is more difficult in cases involving the death of a non-wage earner, such as an unemployed housewife or child. Often, the decedent made no actual monetary contributions to the survivor. The only reasonable method of proving pecuniary loss may be to estimate the replacement cost or value of household services previously provided by the decedent. Fortunately, there are many experts, as well as public and private sources of information available on these issues.
Insurance companies use every possible device to defeat or limit damages for wrongful death.
The fact of remarriage or the possibility that a surviving spouse will remarry is admissible on the issue of the loss of society and companionship as well as the loss of support caused by the death of the victim-spouse. Jensen v. Heritage Mutual Ins. In cases involving pecuniary loss, insurance companies will seek to offer evidence of life insurance received by the survivor as a possible offset to the claimed damages. Schaefer v. American Family Mut. The real party in interest in wrongful death actions is either the personal representative of the estate, or the person designated by the statutes as the person to whom the amount recovered belongs.