Tom McCutcheon – Attorney at Law
I was explaining to a client of ours about wrongful death cases in Alabama and they were quite surprised at how these are handled under Alabama law. I have dealt with this set of laws for so long that I didn’t realize how unusual people might find this particular area of law.
Alabama is the only state in the nation where compensatory damages are not allowed for wrongful death. In every other state in a wrongful death case, a mother working as a nurse earning $45,000 per year who has a work life expectancy of 30 years, the family could claim the value of her income to compensate them for what they have lost. If that nurse was killed by a drunk driver, those lost wages would be in excess of $1,000,000. In Alabama, $0 are payable for lost wages for someone killed by a drunk driver and no other economic damages are allowed either. In other states the value of a mother has been estimated at $96,000 a year to replace the person who cooks, cleans, drives and takes care of the family. In Alabama, those claims are not recognized.
Some years ago, people said that Alabama was a state that allowed too much in damages. Those people either didn’t know that all damages for wrongful death in Alabama are only punitive or didn’t care to find out. Realistically, the cases from state to state are probably worth about the same but ours have to be classified as punitive damages.
Also, it doesn’t matter what a Will says in a wrongful death case, the money recovered is distributed by the laws of decent and distribution which is the Will the state provides for people who do not have a Will.
Law suits for wrongful death actions are brought by the “personal representative” of the estate. The law gives certain people, spouse, next-of-kind and other heirs the right to file an administration of the estate and bring the lawsuit. The personal representative chooses the attorney or law firm to handle the case. The money is distributed is outside of the estate and is not subject to the claims of creditors.
Decent and distribution rules in Alabama would give money to spouses, children and in some cases grandchildren and parents depending on the family circumstances of the person who was wrongfully killed.
Buckle up and drive safely.
2210 Helton Drive
Florence, Alabama 35630
Telephone: 256-764-0112
