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51 Tul. L. Rev. 1 (1976-1977)
American Tragedy: Damages for Mental Anguish of Bereaved Relatives in Wrongful Death Actions

handle is hein.journals/tulr51 and id is 19 raw text is: TULANE LAW REVIEW VOLUME 51 DECEMBER 1976 NUMBER 1 AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY: DAMAGES FOR MENTAL ANGUISH OF BEREAVED RELATIVES IN WRONGFUL DEATH ACTIONS STUART M. SPEISER* & STUART S. MALAWER** INTRODUCTION The subject of this article is the law of the United States on the question of awarding damages for mental anguish of be- reaved relatives in wrongful death actions. There is a separate body of law relating to damages for the pain and suffering of the decedent. The common law rule, still the majority rule in the United States, is that no compensation may be awarded in a wrongful death suit to the relatives of the deceased for their mental anguish. This rule has been vigorously criticized, and has been rejected by a number of common law jurisdictions and most civil law countries. It is based upon nothing more substantial than the nineteenth-century distrust of jurors' ability to assess emotional injuries fairly. Since jurors are now permitted to make such assessments in thousands of personal injury cases each year, there is no longer any rational basis for denying compensation to bereaved relatives for their mental anguish in wrongful death cases. Mental anguish claims in personal injury and wrongful death cases are inconsistently treated under American law. In * Member of the Bars of New York, the District of Columbia, and Connecticut; author, Recovery For Wrongful Death (2d ed. 1975). J.D., Columbia University School of Law. ** Professor of Law, New England School of Law, Boston, Massachusetts. J.D., Cornell Law School; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania; Diploma, Hague Academy of International Law (Research Centre).

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