If only real death brought out the poetics that artists across generations have ascribed to it. Were death a chess match, like in Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, we might be privy to at least some consolation upon losing a loved one. But, alas, the death of a loved one is a uniformly trying and tragic experience. Thankfully, provincial law has codified articles into the Family Law Act to protect the death of family members—laws that are strongest in the cases often most emotionally difficult: wrongful deaths. A personal injury lawyer in Ajax is familiar with the language of the act and can help you to secure the pecuniary damages that you’re due.
Has Wrongful Death Occurred?
While the death of a family member, no matter the circumstances, surely feels wrongful, for our purposes wrongful death is a specific legal phenomenon. The Family Law Act awards damages for wrongful death “if a person is injured or killed by the fault or neglect of another.” This is a short and intentionally vague definition, but the operative words are “fault” and “neglect”.
- Fault
- Broadly defined, fault pertains to the culpability of a person for an act. However, Ontario law has very specific fault determination with regards to car accidents.
- Considering that car accidents are a leading cause of death in Canada, fault rules are crucial for determining, within a legal framework, whether a wrongful death has occurred.
- Neglect
- In legal literature, “neglect” is most apparent in the Criminal Code of Canada’s assignation of criminal negligence, which is defined as “every one who…in doing anything, or in omitting to do anything that it is his duty to do, shows wanton disregard for the lives or safety of other persons.”
- However, much of the assignation of negligence, on a case-by-case basis, is determined through precedence.
Should the court decide that your family member was killed by fault or negligence, your personal injury lawyer in Ajax will be able to secure damages for you.
Damages in Wrongful Death Suits
The Family Law Act outlines the damages that are recoverable under a wrongful death case:
- “Actual expenses reasonably incurred for the benefit of the person injured or killed;”
- For example, ambulances and medical costs.
- “Actual funeral expenses reasonably incurred;”
- “A reasonable allowance for travel expenses actually incurred in visiting the person during his or her treatment or recovery;”
- For example, a transit pass or plane ticket.
- “Where, as a result of the injury, the claimant provides nursing, housekeeping, or other services for the person, a reasonable allowance for loss of income or the value of services;”
- This means that if you took time off work to care for your family member, you may be reimbursed within reason.
- “An amount to compensate for the loss of guidance, care, and companionship that the claimant might reasonably have expected to receive from the person if the injury or death had not occurred.”
- Because loss of guidance, care, and companionship is generally non-pecuniary, the damages awarded under this heading are either based on precedence or conventional values set by the courts.
As a personal injury lawyer in Ajax knows, the interpretation of these damages can be massively different depending on the nature of your family member’s case. Your grief is difficult enough to deal with; let a personal injury lawyer in Ajax work to secure the damages you need and deserve.
Sources:
http://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/900668
http://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90f03#BK81
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/C-46.pdf
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/080716/dq080716b-eng.htm