When a loved one wrongfully dies, you have the right to sue the person responsible for this death. This is done through a personal injury wrongful death lawsuit, and there are multiple types of damages you can ask for. When the loved one is a child, it can be harder to put a dollar amount on damages, and the majority of the settlement amount will be based on speculation. Here are two things to know if you are working with a lawyer after the wrongful death of your child.

You can request compensation for basic things

When a settlement amount is calculated for any type of personal injury case, it normally includes money for basic types of damages, including:

• Medical bills – The settlement amount should cover all the medical bills incurred from the incident.
• Funeral costs – If the person died, the settlement should cover the costs of the funeral and burial.
• Property damage – If the accident involved damage to any property, you can ask for compensation for it. An example of this is damage done to a car during a car accident.

The compensation amount also tends to include loss of wages and loss of future wages.

How loss of future wages is calculated

Children typically do not work and therefore do not contribute to their family's budget, but they tend to work when they grow up. If your child was taken from you because of the fault of another person, you have the right to ask for compensation to cover the loss of his or her future income. The trouble with this is determining how much money your child would have made throughout life.

Because it requires a lot of speculation, your personal injury attorney may ask you questions about your child, including his or her:

• Age and life expectancy
• Interests and extracurricular activities
• Grades
• Dreams, goals, and aspirations

It is slightly easier coming up with an amount for children that are older, simply because you have more evidence to base your predictions on. For example, if your daughter was 16 and was extremely smart and dreamed of becoming a doctor, you could use this information to calculate a settlement. You might get more for her than you would if you had a 14 years old son that did poorly in school and had problems with the law.

Losing a child can be one of the most devastating experiences a parent can ever go through. While money cannot replace your loss, it is really the only form of compensation that will be useful in the future. For more information, contact Charles Aaron PLC or a similar legal professional.