Nothing compares to the feeling of losing someone you love to a wrongful death. For a family in Morgantown, losing their daughter to a fatal drunk driving accident in 2016 was a tragic experience.
Amid their pain, the family sought justice by filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the responsible driver. Much to the family’s favor, the jury decided that the driver now owes them a verdict of $7.6 million for all forms of losses suffered
How did the jury get to that number?
This sizeable verdict breaks down into several categories of compensation, including:
· $3 million for the mental agony the family suffered over their loss
· $2.4 million for the wages the victim would have likely earned during her lifetime
· $500,000 for the physical pain she suffered in the six hours between being struck and her death
· $1,250,000 in punitive damages, which helps prevent such an incident from happening again
The judge also added a significant amount to the verdict to cover any medical bills and funeral costs the family incurred. The paramedics who responded to her accident revealed that the victim had suffered severe injuries, including pelvic fractures, bruised lungs as well as an intense brain swelling.
Does justice bring relief?
The verdict may have helped the family respond to the accident from a place of financial security, but above all, it symbolizes justice for their daughter’s wrongful death. The family’s attorneythe family’s, attorney Tom Peyton of the Peyton Law Firm, P.L.L.C., best summed it up by saying, “there are no winners in this case … the civil justice system has served its purpose and perhaps the [family] will now have some modicum of closure.”