If you lost a loved one due to the negligence, recklessness, or wrongful act of another, no amount of money can ease the unimaginable grief and pain you are experiencing. However, financial compensation may help alleviate the economic burdens that follow and ensure justice is served. Under Arkansas law, both the deceased person’s estate and surviving family members may be entitled to seek compensation for the economic impact and emotional suffering caused by a wrongful death.
Understanding Arkansas Wrongful Death Claims
A wrongful death claim may be filed in Arkansas when a person passes away due to another party’s negligence, carelessness, or recklessness. These cases commonly stem from car crashes, truck accidents, motorcycle collisions, pedestrian accidents, medical errors, and various other types of accidents. Generally, wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within three years from the date of your loved one’s death. If the death was caused by a medical error, a two-year statute of limitations typically applies.
Arkansas law recognizes two distinct types of claims in wrongful death cases:
- Wrongful death claims: Also referred to as family claims, these claims compensate family members directly for the economic and non-economic losses they suffered.
- Survival actions: These claims allow the estate to recover damages the victim would have claimed if they had survived. Survival action damages become part of the decedent’s estate and are then handled through the probate process.
These two types of claims recognize the many ways a wrongful death can affect surviving loved ones and address different categories of harm. Together, they create a framework for monetary relief and help ensure justice is secured.
Compensation in Family Claims
The financial hardship and emotional impact on a family after losing a loved one in an accident can be overwhelming. A family claim is meant to compensate the decedent’s surviving family members for the personal and financial losses they have suffered due to their loved one’s wrongful death.
Compensation commonly awarded to family members includes the following:
- Loss of financial support: The surviving family members may receive compensation for the income and financial benefits the decedent would have provided.
- Loss of companionship and consortium: Compensation may be awarded for the loss of the decedent’s love, care, companionship, and support a spouse, parent, or child would have received.
- Loss of household services: The value of the services the decedent provided, such as childcare, cooking, cleaning, and other contributions to the household, which now require help, may be recovered in a wrongful death action.
- Mental anguish and emotional suffering: Arkansas law allows family members to recover compensation for their non-economic losses, including the mental anguish and emotional pain and suffering they endured due to losing their loved one.
Under the Arkansas wrongful death statute, eligible beneficiaries may include the decedent’s surviving spouse, children, parents, siblings, or other dependent family members. The court would determine how the awarded damages should be allocated among the beneficiaries, based on the actual losses they suffered.
Damages in Survival Actions
In addition to the family’s losses, Arkansas law allows the decedent’s estate to pursue a survival action. Also referred to as an estate claim, this type of claim seeks damages for the physical pain, emotional anguish, and medical expenses that the decedent suffered from the time of their injury until death. Damages that may be recovered in a survival action can include the following:
- Medical expenses prior to death: The medical bills incurred for treatment of the decedent’s final injury may be compensated in a survival action.
- Funeral and burial expenses: Reasonable funeral, burial, or cremation expenses may be recovered.
- Pain and suffering prior to death: Damages may be awarded for the conscious pain and suffering the decedent endured before their passing.
- Lost value of the decedent’s remaining life: The decedent’s estate may recover the wages the decedent would likely have earned if they had lived.
A survival action ensures the responsible party is held accountable for the full extent of harm they caused the victim to suffer, even though the victim can no longer bring the claim themselves.
Punitive Damages
In cases involving egregious, malicious, or particularly reckless conduct, punitive damages may be awarded in a wrongful death claim. These damages are not intended to reimburse the family’s losses, but rather, they are meant to punish the defendant and deter others from engaging in similar wrongful conduct. Punitive damages are not capped in wrongful death cases in Arkansas.
Contact an Experienced Arkansas Personal Injury Attorney
If you lost a loved one in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence or recklessness, pursuing a wrongful death claim can be an important step toward obtaining justice and financial stability for your family. Providing skilled representation and aggressive advocacy for those who have been injured and wronged, the Arkansas wrongful death attorneys at Caddell Reynolds Law Firm are committed to helping families pursue their rightful monetary recovery. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation to learn how we can help you and your family rebuild your lives.