Legal Definitions - death-damage statute

A death-damage statute is an older, archaic term for what is now commonly known as a wrongful-death statute. These laws allow certain family members or representatives of a deceased person to file a lawsuit and seek financial compensation (damages) when the death was caused by the negligence, recklessness, or intentional act of another party. The purpose of such statutes is to provide a legal remedy for the losses suffered by the survivors due to the untimely death, which can include funeral expenses, medical bills, lost income, loss of companionship, and emotional distress.

Here are some examples illustrating situations where a wrongful-death statute (formerly a death-damage statute) would apply:

• Medical Malpractice: A patient undergoes a routine surgical procedure, but due to a surgeon's severe negligence during the operation, the patient suffers complications and tragically dies. The patient's surviving spouse and children could file a lawsuit under a wrongful-death statute (which an older legal text might refer to as a death-damage statute) against the surgeon and hospital. This claim would seek to recover damages for their profound loss, including the deceased's lost future earnings, medical expenses, and their own emotional suffering due to the death.

• Workplace Safety Violation: A construction worker falls from a scaffolding and dies because the construction company failed to provide proper safety harnesses and neglected to maintain the scaffolding according to safety regulations. The worker's estate or immediate family could pursue a wrongful-death claim against the construction company. This action, rooted in the principles of what was once called a death-damage statute, would seek compensation for funeral costs, the deceased's lost wages, and the family's loss of support and companionship.

• Drunk Driving Accident: A driver operating a vehicle while heavily intoxicated swerves into oncoming traffic, causing a head-on collision that kills the driver of the other car. The surviving parents of the deceased driver could invoke a wrongful-death statute to sue the intoxicated driver for damages. This legal action would cover expenses like burial costs, the emotional pain and suffering of losing their child, and any other financial losses directly resulting from the death caused by the negligent driver.